


Aligned in the Stars

by daisywrites



Series: Aligned in the Stars [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Deals, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Fluff, Ford is a cinnamon roll as usual, Guilt, More tags to be added, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Torture, Violence, stan is sick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-08 10:36:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 68,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6851308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisywrites/pseuds/daisywrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bill Cipher comes back to Gravity Falls, he offers Mabel a chance to save her great-uncle. As Stan gets worse, Mabel gets more desperate to save him, and the only answer left is to make a deal with the very person who haunted her nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Desperate Times

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely going to be a long one...  
> Enjoy and leave your comments! <3

Mabel Mabel Mabel.

That name was all that seemed to go through his mind lately. How was it possible that a Pines would finally be the one to catch his attention, especially the one that could never seem to listen to him? A lot was riding on this kid, and she didn’t even know it.  _Mabel_. It was a pretty uncommon name in humans, which he supposed was pretty fitting. This one was an uncommon girl.

The blonde grinned, leaning back in his chair. He could still practically see the hope in her eyes when he offered her his deal, no matter how much she’d like to deny it. The reaction was instantaneous, and gone as soon as it came, but oh-ho-ho, he had caught it. He shook his head with a grin, straightening his bow tie. She was still just as stubborn as she was when she was a kid.

Bill watched the Mystery Shack over every day, and he knew it wouldn’t be long now. He was confident she’d decide she was interested in what he had to offer. Stan just had to get worse, which he was definitely doing. Bill almost hoped she’d take his deal just so Stan wouldn’t succumb to something as simple as illness – if anyone was going to end Stan, the blonde preferred it be him. Bill glanced at the mindscape around him, frowning as the walls began to blur and haze together. He glanced down at his hands before letting out a sigh, then looked back in on Gravity Falls. Couldn’t Stan speed this up a little?

Curiously, Bill moved his gaze from Stan to Mabel. He had seen her not too long ago when he paid her a visit, and since then, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her. He had become enthralled with watching her, learning about what that wild little girl had grown up into. She would light up any room she walked into, and her smile would bring one to Bill’s face as well, although he never realized he was smiling. Bill had never seen a girl before that had captured his upmost attention – when he had first seen her back all those weeks ago, it was like someone had knocked all the air out of his chest. He leaned back in his chair, lighting a cigaerette and puffing a triangular ring of smoke above his head. So this was the girl who would catch his eye? A Pines? He could definitely have some fun with this and save his own ass in the meantime.

And then it finally happened. He felt the electric shocks go through his body as he was transferred from one place to the next, and he laughed as he realized that he was finally being summoned. He grinned excitedly, heart hammering in his chest, as he yanked his top hat onto his head as he got ready for show time.

Yes, it wouldn’t be long now.

* * *

Mabel slowly opened the door to Stan’s hospital room, Ford gently urging her inside. She gripped the edges of her sweater for dear life as she took a step in, now able to see her poor great uncle. Her heart felt like it was cracking when she saw him. He looked so….weak…so pale, eyes lined in dark circles from either lack of sleep or poor health, and even if the doorway she could see his frame faintly shaking. He looked worse than he ever had, and it broke her heart.

Mabel slowly made her way over to his bed, thanking high heaven that Ford was here with her, because she definitely wouldn’t have been able to do this without him. She missed Dipper so much it was dizzying – he was finally on his way down, but he still wouldn’t be here for a week or two. Not having him here in general was hard, and not having him here for the worst time of her life made it harder.

As Mabel and Ford reached Stan’s bedside, Mabel could see the tears already forming in the corners of Ford’s eyes, and she could practically feel her heart crack.

When had things gone so wrong?

Mabel had come down to Gravity Falls for her first summer as an adult, now graduated from Piedmont High, and able to stay in Oregon for as long as she wanted to. Dipper was checking out some far-away college with their dad, and even though Mabel was sad he wasn’t coming to Gravity Falls until later in the summer, at least she had some quality time to spend with her great uncles.

And the summer had been going exactly how she wanted it to. Whether she, Stan, and Ford spent their days solving mysteries or having a movie marathon, she was having the time of her life. By the middle of June, Mabel had so much summer to look forward to, and she couldn’t have been more excited.

It happened on one of the best days they’d had so far. It was a lazy day, and it was filled with laughter and bonfires and tons of Ductective and ice cream. Mabel faintly remembered Stan tucking her in, planting a kiss on her head, and then tiredly going off to his own room.

Only a couple of hours later, Mabel woke up to the sound of her uncle screaming. And when she rushed to his side, he didn’t remember who she was. Or who Ford was. Or his own name. The way he was looking at her…his eyes were blank and confused, and they were lacking whatever they usually had in them that made Stan _Stan_. The fear that was constantly in the back of her mind was coming true – something was causing Stan to lose his memories again.

Her great uncle was tormented with nightmares every night to the point where he’d sit in his lounge chair and refuse to sleep, making up half-hearted excuses about wanting to watch the Duchess Approves instead of going to bed. But he’d fall asleep, and wake up in a horrified panic. He began looking sick and pale all the time, and then he began actually getting sick. Mabel couldn’t remember how many times she’d be helping a terrified-looking Ford care for Stan when he had a burning hot fever and constant chills raking through his body.

The eyes that were usually so bold and confident were scared and confused, looking at her as if he had never seen her before. At first, he forgot them and or himself only a couple times a week. But then it became an every day thing that could last for an alarming amount of time. He’d get angry or frustrated with them, say something rude or get aggressive, and of course when he got his memories back, he had to live with the guilt of it, and that only made him feel worse. His mental pains didn’t stop there- he began remembering things wrong, like his memories were twisted and distorted. Mabel had no idea how many times he’s practically tacked her across the lawn, talking a mile a minute about remembering something terrible happening to her with tears pricking the edges of his eyes

Mabel ran herself ragged trying to take care of him. Bright vibrant sweaters and brighter smiles turned into dismal gray sweaters and weak, assuring smiles. She had to keep it together for both Stan and Ford – Ford was a worried wreck over this, and Mabel got the sense that he was blaming himself for some reason. She had hope he’d get better – that’s what she kept assuring them all – but as he got worse, her hope only seemed to dwindle.

And then Bill appeared.

He offered her a way to save Stan. Mabel stayed up at night thinking about the offer more nights than she’d like to admit. He was just using Stan’s sickness to get something from her – and she knew better than anyone that Bill made bad deals. He had possessed at least two of her family members, and having to wipe him out of Stan’s memories was probably the reason this was happening. Mabel flashed back to Blendin Blandin’s huge yellow eyes, to the rift dropping from his hands and smashing on the ground. She shivered, shoving the thought of Bill to the back of her mind. He couldn’t help, and even thinking about it at all was completely insane. She tried to convince herself the reason she now carried Journal 2 with her everywhere was for something else, not so she’d have his summoning incantation ready.

“Grunkle Stan?” Mabel asked gently, curling her hand around his. She nearly jumped at how cold and clammy he was. Her great uncle weakly turned to look at her, eyebrows knitting as he studied her face carefully.  

“…Who?” Stan squinted at her through hazy eyes, voice groggy and disoriented. Mabel could hear Ford let out a miserable sigh behind her, and her stomach dropped to her feet. Mabel hadn’t expected him to sound so terrible, and she suddenly had no idea what to say.

“I’m going to talk with the doctor,” Ford patted Mabel on the shoulder, glancing at Stan worriedly before exiting the room. Mabel took a seat next to Stan’s bed, biting her nails as she twitched her nose. She could still so clearly remember Bill offering the deal to fix all of this…Mabel shook her head, trying to shove the thoughts of Bill away. He didn’t help, he made things worse…

When Ford came back into the room a long time later, Stan shallowly snoring in his bed, Mabel turned around to greet him, but the words got caught in her throat as she caught sight of his face. He had faint tear stains on his cheeks and was terribly pale, and the smell of cigarette smoke clung to his clothes.

“Grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked with big eyes as Ford rubbed his temples. He only made it about thirty seconds before nearly tackling Mabel into a hug, which she worriedly returned. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“The doctors….they don’t think…” Ford shook his head, letting Mabel go and grabbing onto her hands. “…Stanley is really sick…and really hurt…and th-they don’t think he’s…he’s going to make it much longer. He thinks we should start…considering the fact that…th-that Stanley is going to…”

Mabel gasped, heart stopping in her chest as Ford’s words sunk in. They didn’t think Stan was going to make it. What if he never saw another sunrise, or drank a Pitt cola, or got to go out on the Stan-O-War II? What if he never remembered what it felt like running through the sand on Glass Shard Beach, or holding her and Dipper when they were babies, or practically raising her as she came back every summer? Mabel looked from the sickly, pale face of Stan to the tear-filled eyes of Ford. There was no point in wishing there was something she could do, because she had something, even if it was a bad idea. She had one last try to fix everything.

“Grunkle Ford, please don’t cry, I’ll be right back,” Mabel promised, giving Ford a quick hug. He looked at her worriedly, opening his mouth to say something, but he didn’t have time as Mabel ran out of the room. She raced down the hall of the hospital, rushed through the front doors, and looked around hurriedly. If she was going to do this, she’d have to do it now.

It didn’t take long to get everything she needed, and it took even less time to get where she wanted to go. She wasn’t really sure why she chose this spot to do it – it’s not like she was expecting anything to be there.

Sure enough, when she reached the grassy clearing in the woods, she wasn’t surprised to see the statue was gone, and she vaguely wondered how he had gotten set free. She sat down in the grass, pulling Journal 2 out of her backpack, and flipped it open to the page on Bill Cipher.

Even if Stan wouldn’t want this, this was the only option they had left.


	2. Desperate Measures

****

Mabel sat down in the grass, and she hoped the tiny drops of rain wouldn’t snuff out the candles she was lighting. The light that the small candles gave off kind of lit the grassy area around her, and it helped her nerves a bit now that she wasn’t in the complete dark. But her nerves were going wild, because she knew she was about to make a deal with a self-centered sociopath, and she was basically in the position to give him anything he wanted.

The shaky summoning incantation left her lips, and she looked at the blood-splattered triangle sketched out in the journal. At least when he got here, she wouldn’t have to see him as the same triangle that haunted her nightmares as a child. She shivered at the reminder that she really was summoning Bill Cipher to help out with family problems.

She had seen him summoned once before, back when Gideon did it, so she was already expecting the flames and the big show. But to her surprise, when the triangular portal opened up in front of her, it was hazy and looked almost like it was glitching, focusing and unfocusing every couple of seconds. She didn’t really have time to wonder what was up with that, as a pitch-black shadow took the place of the portal, two grinning eyes glowing blue.

Once the shadow’s feet touched the ground, a flame quickly shot over his body, and when it was gone, she could clearly see the grinning blonde man leaning on his cane in front of her.

“So, Shooting Star. I was wondering when you’d call,” Bill grinned down at her with a cheshire smile. “Stan isn’t doing so hot, I take it?”

“A-Are you still interested in making a deal with me?” Mabel asked, gripping tight to the edge of her sweater. “…Or maybe you’d just want to help me out of the good of your heart?”

“Ha! You are too much, kid!” Bill laughed, pointing at her with his cane. “You’re definitely still Mabel Pines, alright! Although, what happened to the sweaters and the color? Your mindscape is just about as black and white as your brother’s.”

“I haven’t had time to knit anything,” Mabel said indignantly, cheeks glowing pink. She hated not being able to wear anything nice, and she hated not being able to be bright and bubbly, but she just didn’t have time. Any skip in her step these days was just an act to help her great uncles have some sense of hope.

“Yeah, I can tell. Never thought Mabel Pines would lose her color.”

Mabel’s eyebrows knitted, an embarrassed pout settling on her face as she looked down at what she was wearing. A too-big gray sweater that possibly used to belong to Ford, and a plain pair of black leggings. He was right- this definitely wasn’t her style – and her hands clenched into fists as she looked back up at him. Who did he think he was, acting like he had a right to criticize what she wore?!

“Hey! At least I don’t wear a yellow suit!” Mabel pointed at him hotly.

“Yellow suits are all the rage!”

“Not they’re not! Nobody wears a yellow suit! And why do you care what I wear?”

Bill glanced her over for a second before grinning at her, “Because you’re a sight for sore eyes, kid, and I’d like to see that body at its full potential.“ Bill grinned suavely, winking at her. Mabel made a disgusted noise at his remark, which Bill merely chuckled at. She vaguely wondered if he was just flirting with her to get a rise out of her or because he genuinely was this obnoxious.

“What is wrong with you?! You’re so—”

“Plus,” Bill cut off her ranting, holding up a finger. “After we make this deal, I’m gonna be seeing you an awful lot, and I don’t really wanna stare at a gray potato sack.”

“Hey! It’s not a—” Mabel paused in mid-sentence, Bill’s words sinking in. “…You still want to make a deal with me?”

“Course I do!” he beamed at her, twirling his cane. “I’m glad ya finally came to your senses!”

“Well, I’ll have to see what you want in return before I agree to anything,” Mabel said stiffly, hoping Bill couldn’t tell she was bluffing. Of course, he saw right through her, stifling a laugh as he snorted.

“Yeah, okay,” he chuckled. “Wanna hear what I have to offer then?”

Mabel nodded hurriedly, cold air brushing around her calves and ankles as she hugged herself tightly. Really, Bill could ask for anything, and she’d most likely give it to him to save Stan. She had to admit, she was more than fearful of what he was going to ask her for. He didn’t seem to need to think about it, though, because it only took a second of humming thoughtfully and twisting his cane in his hand before he was grinning at her, arching an eyebrow.

“You ever heard of a bond, kid?”

“B-bond?” Mabel repeated, blinking in surprise and confusion. She tried thinking back to the Journals, but she didn’t remember anything about bonds. “No, I don’t think so…”

“Well, let me elaborate!” Bill said cheerily, practically jittery with excited energy. “A bond would tie us together, spiritually that is. And physically – we’d have to stay in each other’s general vicinity….what’s the thing your uncles used to say? ‘Wherever we go, we go together?’ It’s like that! Except for us, it’s by force!”

“Wait…” Mabel squinted at him in complete confusion. “You want to bind yourself to me…and we’ll have to be around each other all the time….? Why?”

“I don’t owe you any explanations. All I can say is…remember the portal that brought me here? Did ya see how it didn’t look right?” Bill raised an eyebrow, leaning on his cane. Mabel flashed back to the portal he came here through, and the way it looked like a glitching video game.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Bill replied shortly. “And that’s all I’m saying about it.”

Mabel sat there for a second, the deal rushing through her head like a bullet train. Bill would save Stan, and in exchange, she’d have to constantly deal with the man who nearly destroyed the town and her family. Bill seemed…exactly how she remembered him. He was still annoying, chaotic, cheerful for all the wrong reasons, and incredibly sly. She really had no idea what his intentions were – what if she was assisting him in taking over the town again? Her eyes fluttered, and she could see Blendin Blandin lifting up his goggles, revealing two huge, glowing eyes. She had fallen for something like this once before…

But no. Last time, it was just for something simple, something like having a little more summer. This time, Stan’s life was on the line, and what would be the point of anything if Stan wasn’t there? At least this time, she was aware she was making a deal, and she could set some terms.

“You’re not allowed to hurt anyone, especially not in my family,” Mabel said firmly, face cold and serious. “No possession, no manipulation, no hurting anyone.” The fact that it looked like she was going to go along with this caused Bill’s blue eyes to light up in excitement, and he twirled his cane before leaning on it.

“Hey, who’s hurting anyone? I’m saving your Grunkle! Really, you benefit both ways! You get Stanley fixed and to be around me all the time. This is really a win-win for ya. “

“You’re making my head hurt already,” Mabel groaned in exasperation, rubbing her temples. Her face turned stony as she glanced at Bill, glaring sharply at him as her hands curled into fists. She could still see those smug eyes crazed with power as he excitedly invaded the mind of her uncle – he may be saving Stan tonight, but he was the reason for his memory problems in the first place.

“And Bill…just because we’re bonded…that doesn’t mean I’ll ever forgive you for what you did to me and my family. I’m only going to be around you because I have to be, and I’m not going to like it.”

Bill blinked at her, a bit surprised at her seriousness and cold words. After a couple beats, he shrugged, glancing down at her briskly. “I don’t want your forgiveness. I never apologized for anything.”

Mabel’s jaw set, hands clenching tightly into fists. Of course he didn’t feel the tiniest ounce of remorse – she didn’t expect him to, really. She just wanted him to know that she still remembered, and she wouldn’t forgive and forget. Naturally, Mabel liked to think of herself as a forgiving person…but what Bill did – and still wasn’t sorry about – is unforgiveable.

“So, that’s that, then.” Bill snapped his fingers, blue fire erupting around his hand, “We got a deal, Shooting Star?” Mabel stared at the hand, the fire dancing off of her eyes, before she reached out her own hand and shook his. The fire swallowed both of their hands, and Mabel winced as she watched the blue flames cover her fingers. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t ohurt, and it only tingled slightly before the flames died down.

“Okay, let’s go heal Stan now,” Mabel urged quickly, grabbing Bill by the arm and pulling him across the clearing.

“Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second!” Bill yanked away from her, digging his feet into the ground. Mabel gasped angrily, hands balling into fists as she marched forward and jabbed him in the chest. The scary feeling that he had tricked her left a sour, dry taste in her mouth and a terrible twisting in her stomach. No, he didn’t trick her again, she wouldn’t let him!

“Listen up, Dorito Face, if you don’t keep your end of the deal and heal my great uncle right now—”

“Look, kid,” Bill jabbed her right back, causing her to stumble backwards. “If you don’t let me bind myself to you right now, our whole deal is going to be null and void because I won’t be here. So just do us both a favor and let me get this over with!”

Mabel huffed, cheeks red with frustration, and she tapped her foot impatiently. She could try and argue with him more on this, but with how stubborn they both were, she could already tell they’d end up arguing over this until it was too late to even save Stan at all.

“Please, make this quick,” Mabel pleaded hurriedly. “You didn’t see him, he really needs you to help him…”

“Yeah yeah, I’m a guy of my word, give me ten mintues, tops,” Bill waved her off dismissively. “Now, give me your hand again.”

Hesitantly, Mabel put her hand in his, watching him carefully. She hardly understood what a bond was, and she especially didn’t understand what in the world he was going to be doing. He scratched his stubbly chin thoughtfully, mumbling about maybe not being able to remember how to do this, before he finally snapped his fingers in realization.

“Close your eyes,” he ordered, squeezing her hand in his. Mabel’s eyes fluttered shut, hand suddenly feeling sweaty, and before she knew it Bill was talking really, really fast. So fast that his words sounded jumbled and incomprehensible, before they slowed down for a second and then repeated backwards. Her hand began to sting, and she forced herself not to focus on the pain, just squeezing her eyelids shut as blue flashed wildly on the other side of them.

Suddenly Mabel felt like she had been punched in the heart, the air knocked out of her body as went reeling back. Bill’s hand jerked and she was thrown against him – or maybe that was the bond pulling them together? – and she could feel his shaky breath against her ear as his voice dropped to a whisper, low backwards words spilling out of his mouth. He kept stuttering and slurring, and as his words continued on Mabel could feel that tingly feeling rushing up through her hand and all through her body. A warm feeling kickstarted in her heart, and then she felt impossibly warm and alive inside, the tingling in their connected hands growing stronger. She wondered vaguely if this was the first time Bill had done this, and he no doubt had to be feeling the same things she did right now, right?

Blue flashed in front of her closed eyelids again, and then Bill stopped talking, gasping for air, as he yanked his hand away from hers. She wasn’t sure if she could open her eyes yet, but she decided to anyways, greeted with the sight of Bill panting for air and leaning against a tree, blue puffs of air escaping his mouth every time he exhaled.

“Yeesh,” he gasped, running the hand he wasn’t leaning against through his messy hair. “That was…wow…”

“A-are we bonded now?” Mabel held her hand against her heart, which still felt tingly and warm.

“You bet,” Bill replied faintly, knocking his fist against his chest as well before rolling his shoulders. “Ho-kay, let’s…let’s go save Stan now, yes?”

“Yes!” The ritual was thrown to the way back of Mabel’s mind as she instinctively grabbed Bill’s hand, finding the tingling in her heart to pleasantly settle the minute she came in contact with him. As they raced through the woods, Bill still a bit short on breath, Mabel turned to him skeptically, now concerned about how close in contact they’d constantly have to be.

“If we’re not holding hands, is my heart going to be doing that tingly-thing? Did you feel that too?” She asked, and Bill responded with a nod.

“The bond keeps us close to one another, and when we’re in contact, it’s not forcing us together,” Bill replied, trying to keep up with her. “Like I said, our spirits are connected and all that jazz.

“Great,” she mumbled, blowing a piece of hair out of her eyes. “So—“

Mabel cut herself off with a gasp, yanking Bill behind her and nearly causing him to fall over as they reached the end of the woods and the start of the sidewalk. In the distance, she could see the glowing sign that directed them to the Gravity Falls General Hospital.

“Let’s go!” She gasped, dragging Bill behind her as the two ran across the street.

 


	3. Weaving a Web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but we're back!!! Hopefully updates will be more frequent! A special thanks to my fabulous beta, and thank you all so much for all the comments and kudos!!!!

Mabel and Bill walked through the dimly lit hallway of the hospital, Mabel leading the two of them before she stopped in front of door 618, the one at the farthest end of the hallway. She was so nervous and excited she could hardly speak – she couldn’t wait for Stan to be better again…but what if she was getting her hopes up for nothing? What if, for some reason, Bill couldn’t fix him…or what if she was getting tricked again?

She opened the door softly, peeking inside before completely entering. Luckily, Ford wasn’t in the room – she hoped he wasn’t outside smoking. It was an ugly habit, one that he used to be addicted to but had quit a couple years back. He only really did it when he was stressed, and that was why he smelled so strongly of cigarette smoke lately. Mabel glanced at Bill carefully – he was humming as he glanced at his fingernails, clearly bored and not caring in the slightest that Stan’s life hung on the line. He was a jerk, but…everyone was in pain from Stan’s condition, from Ford smoking to Dipper hardly being able to be around. This…this was worth it. It had to be.

Mabel stepped into Stan’s room, sitting down at the side of his bed. He looked awful, his skin ghostly pale, and Mabel really had to squint to see the rise and fall of his chest.

“Come on,” she urged Bill hurriedly, twisting the edge of her sweater. Bill glared at the sight of Stan, harrumphing as he crossed his arms bitterly.

“All it took to take ‘ol One-Punch Stan out was some deadly sickness? I should’ve tried that a long time ago—”

“Bill!” Mabel hissed, “If you don’t help my Grunkle right now, I swear—”

“Alright, alright!” Bill held up his hands defensively. He muttered something under his breath, glaring at Stan spitefully. She had heard the story countless times from Stan – sometimes the drama level changed, but she still got the main gist of it. Bill was in a panic, begging on his knees for Stan to have pity on him, and Stan punched him into oblivion and saved the world. The blonde must be thinking of the same thing, which was why he was glaring so fiercely at Stan.

“I don’t want to do this, you know,” Bill muttered, staring harshly at his fingers as they glowed blue, pointing at Stan but not actually helping him.

“I don’t care,” Mabel instantly snapped, practically grinding her teeth. “You deserved everything you got.”

“And you’re gonna get yours,” Bill hissed under his breath, jaw setting as he shot her a glare of daggers. Before Mabel had to ask him again, Bill flicked his wrist, reciting a simple incantation under his breath. A blue glow settled around Stan’s head, briefly glowing around his entire body before slowly disappearing.

Could it really be that easy? Mabel sat there with her heart in her throat, waiting for Stan to open his eyes and smile at her the way he used to when he remembered her, or for him to complain about being stuffed up in a hospital room when he should be at home watching the new Ductective. But the seconds ticked by and nothing was happening.

“Why isn’t he better?” Mabel whimpered, tears brimming in her eyes as she helplessly looked at Bill. He rolled his eyes with a huff, rubbing his temples as he shook his head.

“I healed him, Shooting Star, just like you asked me to. His sickness is cured, but you’ve gotta give him time to recover,” he assured her, but the way he was speaking made it seem like she was hassling him. Mabel worried her lip into her mouth, hoping with everything in her that Bill wasn’t lying. When she looked at Stan, the weight over her heart lifted a bit as he appeared to be sleeping more peacefully, breathing already improving. She smiled softly, because it was all worth it, she could already tell.

“Okay, so what do we do now?” Mabel asked, rubbing at her tingling hand as she glanced down at Bill’s free one. She hoped the terrible urge to hold his hand and be near him wouldn’t be there all the time, even though she really wanted to be as far away from him as physically possible.

“Well, I’m homeless as of now, and we gotta stay together,” Bill said simply, leaning against his cane. “You live in the Mystery Shack, correct?”

“Well yeah.” Mabel said thoughtfully, “Soos his family live in the addition they built back when he first had his baby. So when Stan and Ford are home from their sea adventures and me and Dip come up for the summer, we all stay in our old rooms in the Shack.”

“I guess you got a new roomie then!”

“Wha—?” Mabel opened her mouth to protest, but she really had no choice. They were bonded, and if she was feeling desperate to hold his hand now, then she’d definitely be unable to function if he lived somewhere across town. Whether she liked it or not – emphasis on the not – she had to keep Bill close.

“Is that safe? For you to be around my whole family?”

“Thanks to you, I can’t do anything fun with them,” Bill grumbled, crossing his arms with a small pout. “So yes, it’s safe, unfortunately.”

“So sorry I’m stopping you from possessing my family.”

“The apology doesn’t make it better.”

Mabel huffed, glaring at him sharply. “So fine then. You’ll live with us at the Shack, and nobody will be the wiser. I mean, it’s not like you look like a triangle. And you don’t sound all ominously creepy anymore.”

“Exactly! It’ll all be fine, kid. For me, at least,” Bill yawned, sleepily extending his hand to her as she stuck her tongue out at his remark. “Come on, I’m tired. You humans depend so much on your energy levels…”

Mabel stared at his hand, her own itching to grab his. She didn’t want to touch him – she didn’t want to be anywhere near him…but she was too tired to deal with it right now. She yawned before putting her hand in his own, both of them visibly relaxing from satisfying their bond. Mabel glanced back at Stan’s bed worriedly, muttering, “We shouldn’t leave until Ford comes back…”

Bill opened his mouth to protest, but his blue eyes instantly lit up, a mischevious grin gracing his features. “You know what, you’re right! We shouldn’t leave until you get a chance to introduce me to Fordsy! It’ll be really hilarious to see what kind of story you—”

The sound of the door startled them, both turning to see Ford on the other side. The smell of smoke hit her nose, and she frowned worriedly. Ford and Stan had managed to continue looking great for their ages, but her great uncle just looked so tired, so sick with worry. She swallowed the lump in her throat, only able to stare at her feet. Dipper checking out colleges was his excuse to avoid seeing this, but here she was, facing it all alone.

“Hello, Mabel. I—” Ford’s words instantly halted at the sight of her and Bill, but Mabel didn’t seem to notice, tiredly rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

“Hi, Grunkle Ford,” Mabel offered him a tired smile, tilting her head up to look at him. “We were just about to get going home…”

“…We? As in…you and this stranger?” Ford’s eyebrows knitted, staring between Mabel, Bill, and their interlocked hands.

“Oh, n-no!” Mabel stammered, embarrassed. She quickly yanked her hand out of Bill’s, who glared slightly, but he instantly turned his attention back to Ford. He grinned at the man, and Mabel could tell Bill was absolutely loving seeing Ford so upset.

“No, Grunkle Ford, this isn’t a stranger. And we’re not, uh, going home together. This is…my friend…” Mabel looked to Bill helplessly, unsure of what in the world to call him.

“William!” Bill extended a hand to Ford, grinning widely at him. “And yanno, I think we might’ve met somewhere before! Do I know you?” And then he practically giggled.

Mabel tensed, holding her breath with wide eyes as Ford looked down at Bill’s extended hand. A blonde man named William wearing a yellow suit? Ford surely had to see right through that, didn’t he?

“Oh, uh, I can’t say that I remember you. Maybe we’ve met before – my mind is in about a thousand other places, so I do apologize.” Ford gingerly shook Bill’s hand, who was smiling like a smug little kid in a candy store. He had to be loving this – tricking Ford, making him shake the very hand he had made deals with all those years ago.

“Wow, this feels familiar,” Bill snickered, and Mabel promptly elbowed him in the gut. He glared at her, and she glared right back, sticking her tongue out at him and blowing a raspberry. She felt an angry tension building between the two of them, both probably hyperaware of it because of their bond.

“Mabel Pines, still childish? I can’t believe it,” Bill sneered at her, tweaking her nose. “Everything you do is still absurdly obnoxious, and I can’t say that I’m surprised.”

“At least I know how to do things right! Maybe I should get some synthesized music and—”

“Oh ho ho, you want to bring that up?! Well then how about I go and—”

“Ow!”

Mabel and Bill’s heads both snapped over to Ford, Bill practically crushing his hand in a deathlike grip. Of course. Mabel shifted, embarrassed – the two of them really had a lot to work on. If they were supposed to be pretending to be friends, they couldn’t be arguing at every opportunity, and especially not in front of Ford. If he wasn’t so exhausted and stressed, Mabel was sure he’d realize this was Bill Cipher in front of him.

“Whoops,” Bill took his hand away lightly, smirking as Ford rubbed his sore fingers.

“I’m fine,” Ford assured him gently. He looked between Bill and Mabel – watching Bill nudge her and her practically shove him in response. “…Is everything alright between you two?”

“You know it, S—Ford!” Bill said cheerily, wrapping his arm tight around Mabel and squeezing her close. Mabel had to resist shoving him away, offering Ford an assuring smile.

“And…who did you say this was, Mabel?” Ford asked warily.

“H-he and I became friends back when Stan first became sick. H-he helped me through a really hard time a-and now he’s homeless, so I told him he could stay with us for a while. Is that okay?” Mabel asked hurriedly, that sick feeling she got whenever she lied twisting in her gut. She didn’t want to lie to her great uncle – she didn’t want to bring the person who used to torment him into his house, especially not without his knowledge! But…but Ford would understand, if he ever found out. He would have to. He would sacrifice anything for Stan, too, and he’d get why Mabel did it. Right now, though, he looked incredibly confused, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Bill, then back at Mabel.

“Will your boyfriend be alright with that?” Ford blinked owlishly. “I know in this dimension people can get pretty jealous…”

“Boyfriend?” Bill eyed Mabel, eyebrows knitting. “Who—”

“Y-yes, he knows,” Mabel lied quickly, subtly elbowing Bill in the side. “And he’s okay with it, he knows B—William—needs somewhere to stay.”

“Well…” Ford glanced back to Stan, and Mabel could tell exactly what he was thinking as he let out a small sigh. “…I suppose he can stay for a little while.”   
 Bill smirked slightly, and when Mabel caught his expression she felt a mild anger bubbling up inside of her. Ford was being kind enough to let Bill stay there – no doubt only because he felt bad that she hadn’t been in the best of spirits lately, and was desperate for something to make her happy. And if he thought that Bill was helping her through Stan’s sickness…he was probably thinking Bill could comfort her when Stan didn’t wake up. And here Bill was, being smug about it! She made a mental note to bring this up to him later and make him regret it.

“Thank you, Grunkle Ford,” Mabel said gratefully.

“Yeah, thanks, Fords—erm, Ford,” Bill leered at him, throwing in a wink. “You won’t regret this!”

Ford glanced at Bill warily, responding with a soft ‘you’re welcome.’ Mabel was surprised Ford hadn’t recognized Bill for who he truly was yet, but the surprise didn’t last long. She could see he was looking at his brother with sheer devastation. His face alone had Mabel’s heart breaking, and she twisted her sweater in her palms before deciding to speak up.

“It looks like Grunkle Stan is doing better,” she chose her words carefully. Ford looked at her strangely, a twinge of sadness and pity behind his eyes as he directed his attention back to his brother.

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up, sweetheart, but…” Ford walked over to Stan’s bedside, kneeling down and grabbing Stan’s hand. His eyebrows rose slightly when he touched his hand, and he quickly pressed his fingers against Stan’s wrist.

“His pulse is stronger,” Ford said quietly, wide eyes meeting Mabel’s. “H-he doesn’t feel so clammy anymore…maybe he does look better…”

Mabel smiled in relief, happy that it seemed like Bill really did heal Stan. Soon, her great uncle would be back to normal, and she couldn’t think of anything more rewarding than that.

Mabel and Bill both yawned in unison, and suddenly Mabel felt so tired that she was going to fall asleep right there. She looked to Bill in alarm, and was surprised to see the blonde suddenly looking very sleepy, eyes dropping as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Was this something to do with the bond?

Mabel nearly jumped as Bill suddenly almost fell against her, eyes droopy with tiredness, as he was grumbling incomprehensible nonsense.

“Bond enhances feelings…’m feeling tired, let’s get out of here already,” he leaned against her, messy blonde hair tickling her nose. Mabel tried not to shove him off of her and into a wall, forcing an assuring smile on her face to Ford as she looped an arm around Bill’s back to keep him propped up.

“You’ll be okay here tonight?” Mabel asked, to which Ford dutifully nodded with a gentle smile.

“Of course I will. I’ll call you first thing in the morning.” The two shared smiles before Mabel led Bill out of the room, and she waited until they reached the safety of the hospital’s front lawn to drop Bill into the grass.

“Hey! I was sleeping!” Bill complained loudly, stumbling to his feet and crossing his arms. “I don’t know why you flesh bags need so much sleep, but it’s exhausting! I miss being a being of pure energy with no weakness!”

“No weakness? Didn’t we beat you like, three times?”

“Don’t toy with me, brat,” Bill snarled crankily, rubbing his tired eyes. “Let’s not forget who you’re bonded to, hm?” He roughly snatched her hand in his before dragging her behind him, destination set on the Mystery Shack. She did remember exactly who she was dealing with – one minute he could act one way, and the next minute he could act another, but Mabel was well aware he was an ill-tempered chaotic entity. Apparently one who got even crankier when he was tired.

Like it had been most recently, the Shack was empty when they went inside. Soos was on vacation with Melody and the baby, but they’d be back pretty soon. And with Dipper looking at colleges and Stan and Ford spending all their time in the hospital…Mabel had to come home to an empty house most nights. Which…she would prefer an empty house rather than being stuck with Bill Cipher as a roommate.

“What’re we going to do about sleeping?” Mabel asked as the two of them reached her room, letting go of his hand to instantly have the unpleasant tingling back in her heart and fingertips.

“Guess you’ll have to sleep with me,” Bill grinned suavely at her through sleepy eyes.

“I’d rather my hand fall off,” Mabel crossed her arms indignantly. “You’re not coming anywhere near my bed, Bill.”

“That’s what you say now…” he grabbed a blanket off of her bed, wrapping it around himself as he curled up in the chair in the corner of her room. “But you’ll change your mind later…”

Mabel rolled her eyes, getting into the bed and under the covers. She ignored the tingling in her hand as she slowly faded off to sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *just for reference, Bill's voice doesn't sound exactly how it did when he was a triangle - it sounds more like the way Alex voiced Jeff the Gnome. Thus that's why it wasn't instantly given away to Ford (he never saw Bill in a physical form, much less a human one, before Weirdmageddon)


	4. Making Adjustments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long!!! Updates should be more frequent now!  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos!

Bill’s eyes slowly opened, and he was instantly hit with the blinding light that was pouring in through the windows. He muttered an incomprehensible complaint as he rubbed his bleary eyes – something along the lines of human mornings being too bright. Now that he was bonded to this kid, he was basically stuck on her daily routine, since the bond tied their feelings together.When one of them was tired, they were both instantly exhausted. When one of them was hungry, they were both famished. He always imagined this was what marriage would be like – being so disgustingly codependent on one another you couldn’t even function without being in sync.

He nearly laughed at the idea – a bond was one thing, but marriage was another. There was no way he’d ever willingly tie himself to another being, especially a human one at that! Well…besides the bond he’s currently stuck in, but he had to do that. And for the love of all that is holy, he was really hoping that the bond was enough to make this work. Just to check, he looked down at his hands, sucking in a breath as he waited for this form to fade out or glitch. The seconds ticked by though, and nothing happened. It seemed like he was safe…for now.

His eyes trailed away from his hands and caught sight of a brown curl. His eyebrows rose, and he followed the lock of hair to the head it was attached to. And when everything clicked, he couldn’t help the huge grin that found its way to his face. Here, all snuggled up against him in his chair, was Mabel. Her hand was slipped in his, long eyelashes brushing rosy cheeks, tiny snores escaping her lips. His smile softened a bit – just for a second –  before, he was trying his best not to laugh. Bill Cipher was always right, and he knew that she’d end up in his arms in no time!

He couldn’t wait until she’d wake up and see what she’d done, but for now…well, she was still asleep, meaning that Bill was still feeling tired. Damn bond, he wanted to gloat a bit more. Instead, he gave in to sleeping, closing his eyes with a tiny grin on his face as he drifted back off.

***

“Gah!”

Bill nearly went toppling out of his chair, clutching to the armrests as he tried to figure out what the heck was happening. His blonde hair fell over his eyes, and it temporarily stalled him – because, oh yeah, he was a human now. He kept forgetting that. Being a human for so long was strange – he inhabited Dipper’s body once, and Fordsy’s quite a bit, but besides that, he’s never hung around in a body for so long. Especially not one that was his own.

He peeked over the chair to see Mabel on the ground where she had fallen, sitting with her arms crossed as she glared up at him.

“Hmm,” Bill smirked down at her, “Looks like someone finally had come around.”

“How did I end up cuddling with you!?” Mabel pouted, crossing her arms with a slight blush. Bill was instantly grinning at the sight – he had no idea that making her embarrassed would be so hilariously satisfying. One good thing about this bond? Mabel was hilarious to rile up. So, he decided to push it further, “You must be so in love with me that you couldn’t stay away.”

Mabel groaned, flopping onto her bed and burying her face into her pillow. “I don’t love you, Bill,” she said flatly, her voice muffled by the pillow.

“I wish I believed you,” he teased, leaning over the side of the chair and grabbing a magazine out of her stack. He snatched a pair of her crafting scissors and began humming as he shredded it to pieces – hopefully it was an edition she liked. He flipped to a page she had bunnyeared – a poster of that old boy band he remembered she liked so much. He’d kind of pop into people’s dreams back before Weirdmageddon, and he always remembered her having those blindingly bright dreams with the boy bands and the animals…it was hard not to gag when designing that kid’s prison bubble. But he was surprised that she still liked them, “Hey, you still like Sev’ral Times?”

“Of course!” Mabel instantly replied.

“And how old are you again?” Bill smirked, carving up more of her magazines. Although he was teasing her, this was a question he was curious to know – he still wasn’t exactly sure how long he had been gone.

“Eighteen, and my love for boybands will never die!” Mabel grinned, hands on her hips. “And just so you know, they’re touring here this summer!”

“Don’t get any ideas about going, kid,” Bill mused, slicing up the page with the boy band on it.

“Are you kidding me?! Of course I’m going!” she said excitedly, “This is their first time touring in Gravity Falls since the band got back together! And if we’re still bonded, then you’d better believe you’re going!”

“I would rather spend an entire day with Stanley.”

“That’s not a punishment!” Mabel put her hands on her hips indignantly. “You know, if you got to know Grunkle Stan, you’d actually really like him.”

Bill managed a full laugh at that, feeling that familiar phantom pain he felt whenever he had to think about Stan. He flashed back to that burning room, almost able to feel the immense levels of panic and fear and—

Bill’s thoughts were cut off as the phone rang, snapping both his and Mabel’s attention to it. The phone was one of those old corded ones, but it was pink, furry, and sparkly to boot. He nearly gagged at the sight of it – how could she love these kinds of things, let alone look at them?

“Greetings, Mabel,” Ford’s voice chimed from the other line, causing Bill to grin predatorily. Another perk of living at the shack would be constantly being able to mess with ‘ol Fordsy. And back when he was Ford’s “muse,” nothing was more fun than messing with that guy’s big brain! “Hey Fordsy!” He tried yelling, but Mabel covered the receiver, shooting him a killer glare.

“Good morning, Grunkle Ford! How are you?” she asked, putting a finger to her lips in motion to be quiet. Bill just leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand as he listened in amusement.

“I…I’m actually doing very well today. Stanley…he’s doing so much better! He slept the whole night through – no nightmares! – and you won’t believe it, but when he woke up he remembered me. He called me Sixer and told me to tell you to record the newest episode of Ductective for him!”

“That’s great, Grunkle Ford!” Mabel laughed, falling back on the bed. “I told you he’d get better!”

“Yes, you did. And I wasn’t too sure you were right…but it seems as though you were. The doctors even said that they may be able to release him later today.”

“So I’ll make sure to record Ductective then!” Mabel laughed excitedly, hugging the phone close to her chest before bringing it back to her ear. “And I’ll get his chair all ready for him!”

“Perfect! We should be home later, then! Farewell!”

“Farewell!” Mabel laughed excitedly, and both lines clicked off. Bill couldn’t help but notice the glowing grin on Mabel’s face, and he stalled for a second. He hadn’t seen Mabel smile like that since she was a kid. He had been gone for so long, and when he finally got back and got to watching the Pines family, Mabel was already forcing her smiles and wearing nothing but gray. That kid’s mindscape used to be disgustingly bright and sparkly – lately, it was a jumbled mess of grays and fears. For some reason, seeing that smile made him grin haughtily, and she caught his look with a blush and an eye roll.

“Hey, did I tell you I’d heal him or what?”

“Yes, you did. But don’t look so conceited! It’s not a good deed because you only did it to get something in return!” Mabel pointed at his smug expression.

“I still think I should get a reward!”

“Your reward is a bond, Bill!”

“How about a kiss?” Bill winked at her, wiggling his eyebrows. Mabel stuck her tongue out at him, standing up as she began rummaging through her dressers. Bill watched curiously – living among humans was interesting to say the least. Especially watching their facial expressions. Being in a triangular form, facial expressions weren’t as complicated – he didn’t have skin to make blush, he didn’t have that cute button nose to wrinkle in disgust,and he didn’t have a mouth to pout with! All this stuff was new and a bit fascinating to him. Currently, Mabel was tossing clothes carelessly out of her dresser, making distressed faces at how many plain gray sweaters she was seeing.

“You were right about me losing my color,” she mumbled, not exactly talking to Bill, but loud enough for him to hear it. He shrugged – of course he was right. He always was. Now that he was a human, he didn’t have his omniscience, but he was pretty much a genius without it.

Bill couldn’t help to ask about the nagging feeling in his stomach, asking idly as he set down his magazine, “…But hey, what’s that thing you humans do? To stop the pain in your intestines?”

“…Surgery?” Mabel raised an eyebrow at him over her shoulder as she grabbed a white knit sweater and a gray skirt from her dresser.

“No. No…you know, it’s like drinking? Except you don’t do it through your eyes?” Bill was feeling confused and frustrated – two emotions that did not mix well together on him. “You know! The thing that people do!”

Bill watched Mabel turn to him fully, and he was glaring with his arms crossed impatiently at her. If he was stuck as a human, maybe he should’ve picked someone who wasn’t completely incapable! He remembered Ford doing the thing…the thing when his stomach hurt…but he couldn’t remember what it was—

 “Eating?” she giggled, “The Bill Cipher wants me to make him breakfast! You sure I’m worthy enough?”

“Of course you’re not! But you’ll have to suffice. Having servants is fun,” Bill waved her off, and she blew out a huff of air before ordering for him to get out so she could change her clothes. She looked worried that she’d be stretching their bond too far with her in the room and him in the hallway, but she shut the door in his face anyways. Apparently she didn’t know the exact limitations of their bond – and Bill wasn’t going to correct her on it yet. This would be funny enough before she actually figured out how far apart they could go.

The two of them eventually began walking down to the kitchen – Bill’s socked foot nearly fell right through the floorboards of a stair, and he definitely did not get taken off guard by some horrible combination of taxidermy animals. When he passed the living room, he felt the phantom pain ghost up his spine, feel that sickening sensation of fear, practically see the blue flames around him and he could’ve sworn he saw a flash of Stan sitting back in his yellow chair, calmly drinking a Pitt cola.

 “What’s wrong?” Mabel jabbed him in the ribs lightly, “You’re making me feel all angsty.”

“Nothing,” Bill responded stiffly, “Just hungry.”

Mabel looked at him carefully before continuing on their path to the kitchen. She directed him to sit at a table, and he did, flipping open a newspaper that had all the crosswords filled in with the familiar cursive handwriting. He smirked – Ford got one of the words wrong. Bill scribbled in the right answer – apparently, Ford still needed his intellectual guidance.

 “So, what’re we having this morning, Shooting Star?” he hummed, flipping through the paper. He glanced up at Mabel, who was tying her long hair back with one hand and cracking an egg into a pan in the other.

“Omelets,” she replied, and it vaguely made itself clear to Bill that he felt a bit at ease sitting here at this table, reading a newspaper and Mabel flouncing around the kitchen nearby. He never got to really just…sit. And gaining knowledge by reading…it…it was interesting. Knowledge always just came to him because he knew everything. But to actually work for it was oddly pleasing. He eyed some of Ford’s books in the corner of the room. Maybe he’d come back later and steal a couple…

Both Mabel and Bill jumped as the pink cell phone on the table began buzzing like crazy, an energetic Sev’ral Timez song blaring along with it.

“Two phone calls in one day. Looks like someone’s popular,” Bill smirked, sliding the phone over to her. Mabel stuck her tongue out at him, swiping it off the table before accepting the call.

“Hello?” she greeted, glaring at Bill as he leaned forward and tried to listen to who she was talking to. He couldn’t hear, but he watched with mild surprise as Mabel’s face instantly lit up.

“Look who finally decided to call,” Mabel said warmly, and the amount of flirtation in her voice was as shocking as it was insulting. Mabel never flirted with him! All he did was flirt with her, and here she was, being all flirtatious with someone right in front of him. He glared sharply, Mabel falling into conversation with the person as she cooked his food, and it was easy enough to realize that this was the boyfriend he had heard Ford mention. He tried to listen in…he couldn’t hear much, but he could’ve sworn that he heard a southern accent on the other line…

By the time she was off the phone and setting his plate in front of him, he had nearly lost his appetite. Turns out he was too hungry though, and he began shoveling the omelet down as she took her seat across from him. He finally was able to pause eating long enough to ask, “Who was that?”

“Nobody.”

“Didn’t sound like nobody.”

“Nobody who concerns you,” Mabel replied curtly, taking a bite of her food. He watched her use a fork, wondering if he was supposed to use one of those instead of his hands. Maybe the strange look she was giving him signified that his thinking was correct.

The two of them ate in relative silence, which Bill knew was a very rare occurrence in the Pines household. Mabel was never silent. And he remembered that her and her stupid brother were always together, which brought up another question he didn’t know the answer to – where was Pine Tree? He was going to ask Mabel just as he finished his food, but she was already plopping her dish into the sink. To his surprise, she began walking out of the room, and he had no choice but to quickly stumble after her – she couldn’t go too far, and she had no idea how far ‘too far’ was.

“Hey! We’ve got a bond, remember?” He snapped, yanking her hand into his. Mabel blinked at him, frowning, “How far can we go from each other?”

“Not far.”

She didn’t say anything else, looking like she was nearly pouting as she practically dragged him down the hall of the shack. Bill huffed – he wasn’t some ragdoll she could just drag around! – before relenting and asking, “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking a shower,” Mabel said firmly, halting their walking outside the bathroom door. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn’t even let him get a word in, shoving him away and slamming the door in his face.

He felt a familiar anger bubble in his chest – not from being locked out, but just from the way she treated him. He could oh so clearly remember that classic Mabel Pines temper – the one that had spray paint temporarily blinding him and synthesized music blaring around him. Sure, she was nice to look at, but when it came down to it, Mabel was a member of the Pines family, and Bill didn’t like her just as much as he didn’t like the rest of them. That was just the way it had to be….so Bill didn’t exactly understand the feeling in his gut that was telling him he needed to convince himself of this more than her.

He had some free time in the shack though without Mabel stuck to his side, and he decided he’d use it to his advantage. Bill glanced at the bathroom door, listening as the water turned on and Mabel began singing some hideous pop song. He snorted at that, shaking his head as he slipped down the hall and into the shack’s gift shop.

Bill was whistling as he punched in the code to the vending machine, satisfied as it opened up for him. How long had he been waiting to get down here? Way too long. But even though it was a little too late to get what he originally wanted, maybe it wasn’t too late to get the next best thing.

Soon enough he was in the basement, stepping into the dark room that probably hadn’t had a person in it in years. He quickly slipped into the section that once had the portal in it – now it was littered with broken, dusty parts of the greatest creation this realm had ever seen. This trip, though was for something else. He remembered looking in on his town not too long ago and seeing Stan put something down here he had gotten from that idiot Rick Sanchez. Leave it to Stanley to have the worst taste in the world. Bill wasn’t sure if what he had seen was what he thought it was…but if it was…

After nearly fifteen minutes of searching, he yanked open the cabinet he had seen Stan put the thing into, and sure enough, there it was. The portal gun. Usually, he was the guy urging people to make portals – but now…now portals were his worst enemy. And he couldn’t have a device like that even remotely close to him. He could already see his hands beginning to fade in and out just holding it. So, without a second thought, he promptly smashed the gun on the ground.

“Hey!”

Bill turned swiftly to see Mabel storm out of the elevator, already back in a sweater and skirt, fire in her eyes as she wrung the water out of her hair. He just couldn’t catch a break. He glared right back at her, standing stiffly as she jabbed a finger at his chest, “What is wrong with you!? Why are you breaking Grunkle Ford’s stuff?!”

“None of your business, kid,” he snapped back indignantly, kicking and scattering the broken pieces of the gun away.

“And what happened to not being able to go far from each other?! I was in the shower and you were in the basement!”

“I never specified how far was ‘not far,’” Bill shook a finger in front of her face, and he couldn’t help but grin at how furious she looked. “And I’ve got a perfectly good reason to be down here. This is my house now, too, ya know.”

 “No it is not!” Mabel exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm and trying to tug him out of the room, “You’re only staying here because we made a deal! Nothing here belongs to you!”

“Well it all has to do with me, doesn’t it? It wasn’t that long ago when this house was a shrine to me!” Bill brushed her off, grinning haughtily at her. Well, if she was going to annoy him, then he could annoy her right back! “Speaking of, where does Ford keep that quantum distabilizer that he was planning on destroying me with? While I’m at it, I should probably break that too! Just to be safe!”

“No!” Mabel yelled as Bill took off laughing, racing into the elevator and slamming it shut just as Mabel got to it. He could hear her yelling stuff to him, and he just laughed in response. This kid could be too adorable sometimes, thinking she could stop him! The truth was, Ford knew a bit too many ways to destroy him. Luckily, Bill had an ace up his sleeve – if Ford cares anything about Stan or Mabel, then he can’t hurt him in the slightest. So messing with Ford’s stuff now was just a funny way to bother Mabel – and it was hilariously working.

He had just gotten out of the elevator and looked around, trying to remember where Ford’s room was, before Mabel jumped on his back in an effort to keep him in one place.

“I will not have you messing with anybody’s stuff! The only person you’re allowed to bother is me, remember? I’m the one stuck with you, not them!” she hissed, struggling to keep him from walking away.

“You never said people’s possessions were off limits!”

“You sure would know about possessing, wouldn’t you? Because you did it to two out of four of my family members!”

“Well you sure would know about being annoying, wouldn’t you? Because you’ve been annoying me since the moment you ruined that Gideon deal for me!”

The two of them suddenly toppled over and onto the ground, Mabel on his back and Bill sprawled out onto the ground. She fumbled off of him, and he sit up, rubbing his blonde head as he grumbled curses under his breath. Their bond seemed to be crossing their emotions, because Bill was suddenly hit so hard with disappointment that it felt like someone had slapped him in the face. Mabel wasn’t saying anything, and he glared as he looked up at her, “What’re you looking at?”

“You still think that Gideon deal was a good thing to do,” she said dumbly, shaking her head with a small laugh.

“Of course it was! So what?”

Her brown eyes met his, sending a jolt throughout his body as she mumbled, “How many times is it going to take for you to be defeated for you to figure out that you’re wrong? After everything – after being given so many second chances - you’re just as bad as you’ve always been.”

Bill blinked at her, his smart tongue tied. He just couldn’t think up a response. He was always right. All these deals are what’s best for him. Can’t she see that? Why does it bother him that she can’t?

The two of them turned to see the front door open, and Mabel’s glare was wiped clear off her face as she scrambled to her feet. He only had to lean his head slightly to see Ford in the doorway, looking much happier and healthier than he had since Bill had seen him in the hospital just a day ago.

“You guys are home!” Mabel squealed, first tackling Ford into a hug, then taking a step back to look at Stan. This gave Bill a chance to look at Stan too – a familiar phantom pain ghosting throughout his body, flashes of blue flames flickering in front of his eyes and a strange squeezing in his chest that felt like his pathetic human body was about to go into panic mode—

 “Grunkle Stan?” Mabel asked softly, snapping Bill out of his own mind. Stan stared at her for a second, then he was smiling, opening his arms. “Hey, pumpkin. Good to be back.”

Mabel hugged Stan, looking so stupidly happy, and Bill felt that familiar satisfaction because he was the one gracious enough to save Stan for her. He pulled himself off the floor as he rubbed his head – that kid sure could tackle. With Mabel feeling so happy, it had their bond forcing Bill to feel a little relieved too. At least now his end of the deal was fully complete. Ford glanced his way, looking at him strangely, and Bill suddenly felt the urge walk off into the other room and get out of this guy’s sights. It seemed oddly enough like Ford was onto him – the guy’s never been too intuitive with whatever’s going on around him. But now, it was like Ford was looking at him and he just knew.

Mabel pulled back from the hug and smiled at Stan, and he smiled back before his eyes landed on Bill. He raised an eyebrow at Mabel, “You got a new boyfriend?”

“No,” Mabel instantly said, sounding a bit too aghast at the idea. Bill crossed his arms with an eye roll – she’d be lucky to have him as a partner! Everyone wants a piece of the Bill cake, and this kid’s just too stupid to see how lucky she is being bonded to him! “No, he’s just staying here for a little while.”

 “I’ve heard a lot about ya, Stan,” Bill greeted, smirking at the man. Stan rolled his eyes noncommittally at him before looking at Ford in question.

“Remember I told you Mabel’s friend was staying here?” Ford nudged Stan’s arm, who shrugged indifferently and walked into the house. “Oh, and Mabel…there’s someone else who’s here…”

Bill walked over to Mabel’s side, sure to stay out of the living room, as she stuck her head out the door. She gasped, running out of the house, and Bill stood in the doorway to see what she was freaking out over now. Well, his question about where Pine Tree was is solved – he watched as Mabel ran down the sidewalk, tackling Dipper Pines into a big hug.

 “Hey, Mabel! I told you I’d come down!”

“It took you long enough, bro-bro!!”

Dipper Pines. Meaning…

Bill was now living with the entire Pines family. This…this would be interesting.


	5. Stressed Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!

“Ah, ya see Ford,” Bill leaned over Ford’s shoulder, pointing at the equations on the man’s notepad, “That you forgot to carry the ‘y.’ So that’s why you’re not getting the results you want!”

Ford looked at Bill, impressed, although Mabel could obviously see the skepticism behind Ford’s eyes. She pinched her temples – Bill couldn’t be any less obvious if he tried. Which, he probably was trying his hardest to make everyone as stupidly uncomfortable as possible.  It was nice at least to have everyone all together, even if they were stuck with an irritating fifth wheel. Dipper was back – and he wasn’t mentioning anything about college. Mabel hoped he wasn’t interested in any far-away placed he had checked out with their dad. She had heard Dipper mention, once, going to a university that was so close to Gravity Falls it was practically in the town itself. Maybe he would decide to go there!

The entire idea of college was…kind of unappealing to Mabel. She liked social interactions at school, but was never a big fan of having to sit in a classroom, be quiet, and learn. Maybe she would go, maybe she wouldn’t. She was still on the fence about it. But there was no way she’d ever be able to get into some of the schools Dipper was interested in – those were strictly for smarty-pants like her brother. She found herself thinking about Stan and Ford’s story more and more…about Ford getting accepted into a smarty-pants school and Stan getting left behind….

Dipper promised he wouldn’t get stupid…but what if the problem was her being too stupid to get into a good college?

“Who is this guy, Mabel?” Dipper nudged her from where the two sat next to Stan and Ford. Bill was leaning over Ford’s shoulder, apparently helping the man with whatever equation he was working on. Mabel couldn’t help but roll her eyes, even though she probably shouldn’t be letting on that she can’t stand her “friend.” But Bill was so infuriating! He was messing with Ford just to be a jerk, and her poor uncle didn’t even realize who he was speaking to! Well…from the skeptical looks Ford has been giving Bill all day, Mabel knew it probably wouldn’t be long until he figured it out…

“Just my friend,” Mabel tried to wave it off dismissingly, “He had nowhere else to go and…you know me, always trying to help everyone.”

“The guy kinda creeps me out,” Dipper frowned at Bill, and Mabel coughed into her sleeve before directing Dipper’s attention back to the video game they were playing. It’s not like she could argue with him – Bill was creepy, in a weirdly charming sort of way.

 “So what would you say is the answer to this equation? I have the square root of seventy three,” Ford pointed to the problem in front of him, clearly testing Bill.

“Pfft, Ford, you’ve been given this problem about a hundred other times,” Bill shook his head with a snort, jabbing at the paper, “How do you still not know this? You add the ‘y’ here, not there!”

Mabel watched the look of confusion on Ford’s face, and she opened her mouth to yell at Bill and tell him he was being rude and obvious.

Unfortunately, Stan beat her to it.

“You’re talkin’ to my brother like he’s some kind of idiot,” Stan glared at Bill, whose eyes instantly shot over to Stan’s. Mabel felt a feeling of dread shoot through her – the feeling Bill seemed to give them at every mention of her great uncle. Nevertheless, Bill carried on, albeit slightly off his game.

 “I didn’t say he was an idiot, he’s just—”

“Just what?”

“Bill,” Mabel cut in, standing up from where she sat with Dipper, “Maybe we should go and talk…”

“About what?” Bill snapped at her, clearly on edge. Mabel wanted to yank out her own hair – was he really that stupid to act this way to her around her family? Apparently so, because all the Pines men were giving Bill eerily matching glares.

“If you’ve got a problem, buddy, you’re more than welcome to leave,” Stan growled, beginning to rise from his chair. “I’ve listened to your loud mouth enough for one lifetime. Why’re you even here, anyways?”

“I-I…” Bill shifted back, instantly taking a step back from Stan, “Me and Mabel are, ah, friends…”

“It doesn’t really seem like it,” Dipper said, raising an eyebrow. Mabel and Bill were both hit with matching feelings of nervousness, and another feeling Mabel could only describe as worry on Bill’s end. Ford was looking at him, quietly assessing and trying to figure him out, and Stan’s glare on him was as cold as a block of ice.

 “Well, we are,” Bill crossed his arms indignantly, “And she was…nice…enough to let me stay with her while I work out my, um, business.”

“Mabel might be a nice kid, but I sure ain’t,”Stan growled, standing up to face Bill, “So if you talk to her or my brother like you own the place again, I’ll hafta remind you whose house yer in.”

And then Stan jabbed Bill in the chest.

A feeling that Mabel can only describe as panic shot through her, and she watched with wide eyes as Bill yanked himself away from Stan as if he had gotten burned. He stumbled backwards, hitting against the wall, looking wild and hunted.

“What’s your problem, kid?” Stan asked, tilting his head slightly, but Bill was already mumbling something incomprehensible, shaking his head as he fumbled out of the room. Everyone sat in silence as a door slammed closed, Mabel wincing at the action.

 “Why is that blonde weirdo living with us again?” Stan grumbled, crossing his arms as he plopped back into his chair. Ford glanced at where Bill had run out, then looked to Mabel, clearly trying to solve the puzzle in front of him. Mabel hoped that Ford couldn’t tell she was feeling everything Bill was feeling right now…the wild, bubbling panic—

Mabel suddenly gasped, clutching her chest, and everyone in the house looked at her in alarm. Her heart was beating at what felt like a hundred miles per second, and she was able to hear it in her ears and feel it in her toes, along with a terrifying feeling of panic.

“I-I’ll be right back,” she promised shakily, feeling frantic and hunted as she scrambled up from the floor and down the hall. Her legs carried her to her room, where she pushed open the door to find Bill sitting on the side of her bed, hands in his hair as he tried to control his breathing. The sight in front of her stalled her temporarily – knocking every emotion but shock out of her body. Bill Cipher…looking so…

“Bill…?” she asked, trying to manage to catch her own breath. “W-what’s wrong? Before you freak out, try and remember we’ve got a bond—”

“What’s going on?” Bill gasped, “H-human lungs a-aren’t working…”

Mabel walked over to him, sitting next to him on the bed with big eyes. He instantly moved as far away from her as he could, shooting her a dirty look as he rubbed at his eyes and his temples. He paled, eyes suddenly frozen on the wall across from him as he hoarsely whispered, “Is…is the room on fire?”

“No,” she whispered, staring at him with huge eyes. He sat there, fingers digging into his blonde scalp, as he tried to get control over his breathing.

“Then—?! Wh-what the hell is th-this?!”

Mabel stared at him owlishly until it finally hit her, “….Are you giving us a panic attack?”

 “J-just make it stop!” Bill yelled, and Mabel jumped at the volume in his voice. She couldn’t have him yelling, and she certainly couldn’t have him panicking! She could feel the panic in her own chest, her heart beating quickly and her head practically spinning. So she put her hand on his back, and he nearly tore away from her instantly.

“Bill, come on, I’m trying to help you,” Mabel said, which only made Bill wince as he stumbled to his feet. He let out a noise of frustration, gripping at his blonde hair before pointing to Mabel angrily, “We’re leaving! I can’t live here!”

Mabel put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow, “Why not?”

“Stanley!”

“Wh-? Why?”

Bill glared at her hotly, hands in fists at his side as he finally tore his gaze away from her, mumbling, “Don’t pretend that you don’t know what he did.”

“Bill!” Mabel exclaimed nearly hysterically, “Stan did what he did to save the entire town! You were going to destroy our entire dimension!”

“I-I—!” Bill sputtered, tripping over his own words, before switching gears completely, “I won’t live with him, kid, and that’s that!”

“I’m not leaving!”

“Stanley Pines is an arrogant, self-righteous jackass who-who killed me and got me stuck in this body! Do you have any idea what it’s like to be living with him!?” Bill grabbed her by the shoulders, almost desperately. Mabel felt the match strike – the anger explode like a fireball inside of her, and the words just fell right out of her mouth.

“You think it’s hard to be around the person who did that you? How do you think I feel being stuck with the person who almost killed me?!”

Bill blinked at her, mouth opening to retort, but Mabel was too worked up now, grabbing him by the shoulders, “One snap of your fingers, Bill. One snap and I would’ve been gone, and I wouldn’t have gotten a new form. I was this close to being gone.”

Mabel expected an instant response. Instead, Bill just stared at her. He blinked twice, mouth opened but his smart tongue was tied. The look on his face…it made her wonder fleetingly if something she said had finally gotten through to him. She suddenly jumped, yelping, as his entire body suddenly glitched, fire crackling around his feet for a split second before he was back to normal. But in his eyes…they were expressive, almost…guilty? The expression was gone as quick as it came, anger taking right back over as he yanked away from her.

“I don’t care how you feel,” Bill growled at her, wild blonde hair falling over his eye, “I may have a human body, but you’re right, I’m the exact same one who caused Weirdmageddon, and I don’t feel bad about it! I’m not your friend who cares about your feelings!”

Mabel didn’t know what to say, just staring up at him with an utterly disappointed look on her face. Bill snarled at her expression, brushing past her as he stormed out of the room, “And don’t think that when the opportunity arises, I won’t do it again.”

She didn’t see him for the rest of the day.

 

* * *

 

He hadn’t seen Mabel in three hours.

Things weren’t great between them since their fight a couple days ago. Mabel hardly spoke to him and he didn’t have anything to say to her. She wouldn’t let him leave this hellhole they call the Mystery Shack, and so he had taken to spending all his time in her room, wrapped in a rainbow-patterned blanket and grumpily trying to figure out how to work a tablet. He had heard Ford complaining about technology once – Dipper wanted to know why he refused to get a cell phone, which he said was too ‘unnecessarily complicated.’ At least now Bill understood why…

He had been sitting in her room, in his usual spot, when a nagging feeling seemed to kick him in the gut. He was still getting used to distinguishing these feelings – but this one was more unpleasant than he had felt yet. It was this deep, sinking, awful feeling…and he knew Mabel was the one feeling it.

He stood up to go find her – he was curious as to why she was feeling this way. If she was going to be feeling bad, then he’d be the cause of it! He wasn’t gonna let anyone put him out of business!

With this in mind, he crept through the nighttime darkness of the shack. Everyone was sleeping as far as he knew, and it took quite a bit of stealthy creeping to slip through the entire shack. He didn’t see Mabel anywhere, stopping stumped in the middle of the gift shop.

 “Where could this dumb kid be….?” His eyes landed on the ladder that led up to the roof, and he smirked to himself before climbing up it.   
His blonde head poked over the top, the cool night air hitting him just as the light of the moon did. Instantly, he heard a sniffle, and raised himself to see brunette sitting on the edge, knees tucked inside her sweater and her head inside the turtleneck. The distressing feeling grew stronger – and he was pretty sure he was the one feeling it now, which was…preposterous…

He sat down next to her, and she didn’t even notice him at first. He huffed, poking her in the shoulder, “Shooting Star?”

Mabel jolted in surprise, nearly falling off the roof, and Bill had to reach out and steady her. Her eyes met his, and this temporarily stalled him – they were big and wet like she had been crying, She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sweater sleeve, “What do you want?”

“I was wondering why I was feeling so…” he struggled to think up the right word, so he nudged her, whispering, “What emotion is this?”

Mabel cracked a small smile that didn’t reach her teary eyes, “Sad.”

He blinked, “You’re…sad?”

Mabel sniffled again, not looking at him as a few more tears flittered down her cheek. Bill knew he always went on about wanting her to stop talking for once in her life, but now that she finally looked…so broken…he instantly wished for her to go back to normal. So, he did the one thing he hasn’t done in his whole time being a human. He was optimistic.

“Aw geez, kid! Sadness is the most useless emotion around,” Bill said easily, nudging her lightly, “There’s no point in being sad about things, because there’s nothing you can do to fix them!”

 “There is nothing I can do,” Mabel mumbled, any light in her face dimming as she let out a miserable sigh. Bill paused, eyebrows knitting. Mabel Pines wasn’t supposed to be sad. In all the years he had known her, she was never not determined and or smiling. For some reason seeing her like this bothered him, and he was itching to know, voice coming out softer than he meant for it to, “…What’s wrong?”

Mabel glanced at him warily, obviously wondering if he was messing with her. He rolled his eyes, leaning back on his palms, “Come on, just tell me. The worst I could do is make fun of you.”

She seemed to consider not telling him, but then her resolve broke away, sighing as she picked at her sweater sleeve. “I was just up here taking to Dipper…and…he told me that he got accepted into a college. It’s actually the one he’s been wanting to get into since we were little—”

“Ah, so your brother’s achieving his dreams, and you’re jealous!” Bill nodded to himself, sure he was understanding, but Mabel elbowed him in the arm.

 “No! I-I’m really happy for him! Dipper’s worked really hard and he deserves this, but…” Mabel sniffled, tucking her legs back into her sweater, “…It’s in New York City. Across the country. He’s…he’s going to go.”

“Well, I personally don’t have a problem with this,” Bill shrugged. “This means we’ll get out of this damn shack! There’s tons of people there, so I’d probably be able to—”

“Without me, Bill. He can’t take me with him. He thinks he can, but…he can’t.”

Bill blinked, staring at Mabel as she looked away from him. The idea of those two annoying kids being split up…he was sure it wasn’t just their bond that made him disturbed by this. Those two were always together, always foiling his plans! And Dipper…was just leaving her? He flashed back to Stan and Ford – to the twin who left his sibling for a college across the country – and he could practically see the history repeating itself. Looking at Mabel closer, he could see fresh tears in her eyes, and he didn’t understand at all why this seemed to hurt his chest.

 “Why not?”

“I-I’m not smart enough to get in there…and even if I was…I can’t leave Gravity Falls. Especially not while Stan’s still getting better,” Mabel replied softly. “Dipper told me it’d be okay, that we’d figure something out, but I already know what’s going to happen. I want him to go…but it’ll be sad without him…”

A couple tears flittered down her cheeks, and Bill found himself wanting to do something. He didn’t even think about how this went against his nature – about how he was Bill Cipher and she was Mabel Pines and they hated each other.

“Hey,” he said, voice sounding gentle to his ears, as she turned to him, looking vulnerable and miserable. “If there’s anything I know, it’s you and your pesky brother always manage to do whatever you set your minds to! You even defeated me! And you did it together – so I’m sure that you’ll find your way to each other either way. It’s not like anybody could separate you two – trust me, I’ve tried.”

And then the strangest thing happened.

Stranger than those inspiring words that came out of his own mouth.

The light seemed to come back to her eyes, and then her lips turned upwards. She was smiling at him. Sincerely. And this…this made his heart stop. It was the first time someone’s ever smiled at him for something he truly meant.

 “Stop doing that,” Bill smirked, rolling his eyes, even though he didn’t really want her to. Mabel didn’t say anything, but he knew she was still smiling, and for some reason he was content leaving that as it was.


	6. Learned Humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy fluff ahead! ^_^  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

Okay, this was ridiculous.

“Bill,” Mabel huffed from where she sat at the kitchen table, arms crossed in a gray robe that was too dull for her taste, “What in the heck are you doing?”

“What?” Bill looked up at her, blue eyes questioning and an eyebrow raised in mild annoyance. Mabel couldn’t help but have to conceal a grin at the way Bill looked right now, only able to gesture to him wildly, “You don’t eat pudding with your hands!”

In front of her sat Bill Cipher, ex-triangle, whose hands, arms, suit, and face were covered in chocolate pudding. She tilted her head, even able to see some in his hair, and now she couldn’t help but laugh. Bill crossed his arms, only further getting pudding on himself, “Hey! I’m still getting used to being a flesh bag! And you haven’t helped me at all!”

“I’ve taught you tons of things!” Mabel protested, grabbing a paper towel and handing it to him. Bill glared at her, crumpling it up indignantly and tossing it backwards.

“You’ve taught me how to braid hair. That’s it! And that’s not even useful to me – my hair isn’t long enough!”

Mabel grinned teasingly, “It’s useful to me.”

“You’re just using me,” Bill pouted, crossing his arms. Mabel laughed, and she caught him crack at grin at her. This was pretty rare to get a grin with no malicious intent – she wasn’t even sure if she had ever actually heard his real laugh, because she refused to believe that mocking cackle was the real thing. The grin was gone as quick as it had came though, Bill poking his tongue between his teeth as he went back to trying to pick up and eat his pudding.

Mabel held a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the scene, which Bill could clearly tell, his cheeks flushed with a tiny bit of embarrassment as he finally threw his hands up in the air, pudding splattering onto the walls.

“I give up! Being a human is too hard! I’m going to steal Pine Tree’s energy and turn back into a triangle!”

 “Keep it down!” Mabel half-laughed, peeking around the corner to make sure nobody was around. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she turned back to Bill, shaking her head as she got up and sat closer to him. “Okay, look. See this?”

Bill glared impatiently at the spoon in her hand, raising an eyebrow, “A metal object?”

“It’s called a spoon,” Mabel explained. “People use it to eat liquid-y foods, and one time I used one to levitate Grunkle Stan and his chair up in the air when I was trying to mind-bend it!”

 “What? You’re lying,” Bill looked at the spoon in such awe Mabel couldn’t help but smile. He snatched it away from her, glaring at it, and Mabel quickly took it back before Bill spent the next several hours trying to bend it.

“For now, we’re using it to eat. Watch me.” She popped the spoon into the pudding cup, getting some on her spoon before putting it in her mouth. “See? Easy! Now you try.”

Bill raised an eyebrow before carefully jabbing it into his pudding cup, holding it up questioningly when he got some on. Mabel nodded approvingly, and then he took a bite.

“Yay!” Mabel clapped, and Bill’s face lit up just the tiniest bit at her praise. She faintly wondered if anyone’s ever applauded Bill before – maybe she should’ve saved it for something more monumental than his first correct bite of food. Then again, anything Bill did that wasn’t evil deserved applause.

Bill looked actually relaxed for once, eating his pudding and humming, until Dipper and Ford came into the kitchen. Mabel could tell he was waiting for Stan to come in too, but he didn’t, which instantly made Bill calm down a bit. A part of Mabel wished that Bill would just get to know Stan – he’s the last person to be so afraid of. The two of them actually have a lot in common, and would probably enjoy the other’s company if they just tried. Stan had no interest in talking to Bill – now more than ever – and Bill avoided Stan like the plague.

“Hey, Mabel,” Dipper nudged her as he crossed by the table to get to the fridge. Taking to her brother still hurt her heart a tiny bit after their conversation that took place nearly a week ago. After this summer, she didn’t know how often she’d get to talk to him…

“Hey, Dip,” she greeted cheerily, perfectly masking her inner turmoil. “What’re you doing up so early?”

“Stan wanted me to make him breakfast,” Dipper sighed, scratching underneath his hat anxiously, “He knows I can’t cook – I think he’s trying to make me crack down on taking care of myself now that we’re adults.”

Mabel couldn’t help but smile – classic Stan, making Dipper better at the things he wasn’t confident at. Before Mabel could respond, Dipper turned to her in surprise, eyebrows furrowing, “Wait, why are you here right now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Usually whenever Sev’ral Timez has a concert, you take all day to get ready for it.”

Mabel blinked, heart stopping in her chest as her eyes flickered over to the calendar. Today was the third Friday of the month, the day she’s been waiting for for so long—

“Sev’ral Timez has a concert tonight!” Mabel exclaimed, slamming up from the table and practically falling backwards. “I must’ve completely forgotten because of everything that’s been going on!!”

“Mabel,” Bill warned, holding up his hands as she looked at him with sparkling eyes, “Don’t even think—”

Mabel ran over to where Bill was at the end of the table, grabbing him by the arms and pulling him out of his seat. Before he could protest, Mabel shouted a quick goodbye to Dipper as she dragged Bill into the empty gift shop. As soon as the door shut, she was jumping up and down excitedly, “Bill, we have to go!”

“No, no way,” Bill crossed his arms dramatically, “I wouldn’t be caught dead at one of those stupid boy band concerts.”

“That’s exactly it though!” Mabel grabbed both his hands, not noticing the small blush that tinged Bill’s cheeks, “I’m teaching you how to do human things just like you wanted! Like go to a concert! That’s a huge thing humans do!”

“I think this is just another case of you using me,” Bill scowled, sticking his chin out stubbornly, “I’m Bill Cipher, not some chauffer!”

“Come on, Bill!” Mabel shook his arms, “If you’d just go, you’d have fun!”

“I think your definition of fun and my definition of fun are very different.”

“Well…if you go with me, we can go somewhere you want next time,” Mabel said, instantly pointing a stern finger at him when he began rubbing his hands together deviously, “Somewhere that’s safe and doesn’t involve committing arson.”

Bill dropped his hands, frowning again, as Mabel nudged his arm. “…So? Are you in?”

He glared at her, looking up at the ceiling before he let out a growling sigh, “Fine. But I promise you, I will not have fun.”

“You’ll see about that!” Mabel grinned, doing a victory dance before running off. She barely missed the fond smile that crossed Bill’s face for just an instant before he curmudgeonly followed after her.

* * *

“Bill? Are you almost done?”

“I’m trying to figure out if there are any windows I can jump out of in here.”

“Don’t be so crabby! I bet you look great!”

Bill glared daggers at where he thought Mabel stood outside the door. Here he was, in the mall dressing room, hands curling in and out of fists as he let out a long exhale through his nose. He didn’t want to be going to a boy band concert tonight, yet here he was, standing in a tiny dressing room wearing a bright band t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Out of all the different outfits he’s worn over his time as being a human (one), this one is the worst! She couldn’t even get him a shirt that was yellow! Yellow was his thing!

“Shooting Star,” he groaned, bonking his head against the wall a couple times, “Can’t we just stay home and watch those stupid shows I hate instead? I’d be tortured either way!”

Mabel didn’t say anything for a second, but he could practically feel her smiling at him. Then her cheery voice chimes through, “You love those shows! You binge watched all of Ductective a couple days ago!”

“You have no proof of that,” Bill muttered, crossing his arms flatly. The only reason he had watched that show in the first place was because she was so enamored with it, and once you watch one you can’t just stop!

“Just come out of there, we’re going to miss the concert!”

He groaned again, shoving open the door to the dressing room as he stepped back into whatever store they were inside. They saw each other at the same time – and Bill was…a bit taken aback at how Mabel looked. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, and she was in the same outfit as his, save for the rainbow frilly skirt she was wearing over a pair of neon-pink tights. He had always been aware Mabel was pretty, but he had been noticing more and more lately how…well…charming she could be.

He couldn’t help but kind of smile proudly, “You’re all sparkly again.”

Mabel blinked, looking down at her outfit, and her cheeks turned pink for a second. “It is nice to be wearing normal clothes again.” Her eyes landed on him, and Bill’s eyebrows rose as she practically squealed, bouncing foot to foot as she grabbed him by the shoulders, “Bill! You look great! Who knew you could clean up so nice?”

Now it was his turn to be at a loss, and he hoped his cheeks just felt hot and weren’t actually showing any color, “Pfft, of course I clean up nice! I’d think you’d have noticed by now!”

“I still think you need more accessories,” Mabel beamed, grabbing him by the wrist and tugging him away.

“More?!” Bill half-laughed, letting her drag him through the store, “Do you see all these dangly things on my wrist? There’s about fifty on each arm!”

He had to admit, the way she was so excited to go tonight was actually pretty cute. They’ve been at the mall for nearly an hour now, and he’s sat by and watched her run through stores in flashes of neon colors, listened to her sing those stupid songs excitedly, and practically bounce off the walls with excited energy.

“They’re called bracelets and yes, you can never have too many accessories!” Mabel declared loudly, several people in the store turning and looking at her. Bill couldn’t help but grin – if there was one thing about Mabel that was so endearing, it was the way she didn’t care who was watching her. She was the brightest and loudest one in just about every room, and he had never really spent a lot of time with a person like that before. Stanford had strived for perfection, Dipper wanted to be acclaimed in society and fit in. Mabel? She just wanted to have fun. And Bill found something about that philosophy highly appealing.

“Okay okay,” Mabel was grinning like an idiot as she grabbed several necklaces and put them around Bill’s neck, then putting a few more around her own, “These will glow in the dark, light up, and this one has a whistle on it!”

He looked down at the flashy jewelry around his neck, weighing his options between fight or flight. On one hand, he wanted to just complain and protest about being dragged around like a doll. On the other, a part of him just wanted to go back to the shack and go back to trying to eat pudding. But Bill just looked at Mabel…looked in her eyes and he just couldn’t help but finally give in.

“Load ‘em on, we’ve gotta be the flashiest ones there,” Bill shrugged, glancing at her to see her reaction. There were practically stars in her eyes, and he could feel through their bond suddenly flooding of fireworks in his chest,  light streaming through his body so intensely he was worried it would come out of his fingertips.

Mabel…she was feeling…

Happy.

Happy to be around him, to be shopping with him and spending time with him.

For some reason he refused to question, Bill was now more determined than ever to make this night the most fun she has had in a while.

* * *

He had no idea this was what was a concert was like.

Screaming, adoring fans stretched for miles, all singing and cheering and jumping and dancing. Lights were flashing and exploding with color all around him, the music strong and thickly beating in his ears. Personally, he wasn’t one for music or big crowds of humans, but apparently, he’d suck it up for the human whose hand was currently in his. Because of the bond, he and Mabel randomly ended up holding hands without even realizing it most of the time. Now, he became hyperaware of it as she threw their joined hands in the air and screamed excitedly along with everyone else.

“So this is the kind of music you like?” Bill raised an eyebrow, squeezing the hand that was in his as Mabel jumped up and down with the rest of the crowd. He was tall enough that she could jump and he didn’t really have to – he was thankful for that, because he could barely master walking on these lanky legs as it was.

“I hope it’s not too synthesized for you,” Mabel grinned, tongue between her teeth teasingly as she knocked the side of her hip against his. He stumbled, and she laughed, causing Bill to roll his eyes with a small smile and shove her. She laughed and continued to sing, throwing Bill’s arm up in the air with her own as they waved their arms with everyone else around them.

“Okay, Bill, I’m going to teach you how to dance!” Mabel looked up at him excitedly, grabbing both of his hands in hers.

“No way, Shooting Star, I am not—”

She maneuvered his arms so she twirled back into them, and then he was twirling her outwards. He looked like a deer in headlights for a second there, but then Mabel turned and her hands were linked in his, and she was dancing around and smiling and being utterly infectious. Well, screw it. He could blame it on the bond after all.

Bill finally grinned and danced with her, and that happy feeling shot through him again as Mabel laughed and cheered for him. He couldn’t help but laugh a little bit as they danced like no one was watching, and he had never felt this dumb yet this carefree before.

He honestly had no idea how long he was dancing, but he suddenly looked at the band in alarm as the song changed, the lights turning to a sparkly pink, as one of the blonde guys whose name Mabel told him but he instantly forgot began singing softly and slowly into the microphone.

Bill looked over at Mabel, watching the different colors reflect and bounce off her face, catching in her long eyelashes and glowing around her head like a halo. He had to blink a couple of times, face warming, and then she looked over and up at him. Her big eyes caught his, and it was like he was frozen, unable to say or do anything for what felt like forever. He finally snapped out of it, eyes glancing to see other people swaying together or holding up little glowing lights.

“Look, uh…” Bill scratched the back of his head, unsure what in the hell he was doing. He masked his nerves with confidence, holding out a demanding hand to her, “If I had to come to this concert, then you owe me a dance.”

Mabel looked at him, and for a second he worried she was going to say no, which was silly because they’d been dancing all night…but for some reason, Bill felt more meaning behind this one. Her face softened, and she smiled at him again, shrugging as gentle hands fell on his shoulders, her head resting on his shoulder as well. He had no idea what to do, standing there a bit helplessly, so she had to put his hands on her waist.

Dancing…how could something this simple be so…enjoyable? Prior to this, he had never felt so…stupidly content before. He had always been searching for some sort of happiness – he’d done terrible things to achieve his goals, to get away from a dull, flat-minded place to accomplish what he was destined to. But here he was, standing at a concert surrounded by flashing lights while some dumb boy band played, swaying with whom he had thought was the most annoying person in the world.

Had he…had he thought wrong?

He looked to the stupid outfit he was wearing for her back to the girl in his arms, and he it suddenly hit him that there was a reason he was basically defying his entire nature to try and make Mabel some semblance of happy. He had done the exact same thing on the roof about a week ago. But why? Was it…was it just about her being happy? Or did this make him happy too? He didn’t know why it troubled him that he wasn’t sure if he had ever felt firsthand happiness.

He decided not to think about it for now – since when did he let things bother him? He grinned as he spun Mabel around, the two of them dissolving into laughter.

* * *

 

Bill’s eyes were droopy with tiredness by the time he and Mabel pulled in to the Mystery Shack’s driveway. He was so tired that he just now noticed they had held hands the entire drive home. Honestly, at this point, holding hands was basically the norm for them. Mabel looked equally as tired, but still looked happy, climbing out of the car and waiting for Bill to follow her. The two of them walked up the path to the Shack, and everything felt…like it was where it should be. He couldn’t exactly name these human emotions he felt,and he felt a tiny bit inferior whenever asking her what he was feeling.

“Bill,” Mabel stopped him at the front door, causing him to glance down at her. He expected to get yelled at for something, but instead, she smiled at him and nudged his arm, “I actually had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks for agreeing to go with me, I know you didn’t really want to.”

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Which I’ve gotta give you credit for, because I’m usually never wrong,” Bill shrugged, grinning as Mabel rolled her eyes. Before she could go inside, he added, “Like I’ve said before, you know how to party.” And he playfully nudged her back. She laughed – a genuine laugh, he still couldn’t get over it! – and then walked inside the house.


	7. Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for a feels train!   
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

Bill’s eyes slowly opened, revealing blank whiteness all around him. For a second, he thought he was back _there_. In the mindscape, the decaying, glitching mindscape. Panic throttled him, but then he realized – he was in _someone else’s_. And honestly, he had no idea he could still do that – maybe this was the only thing he could do with so little energy? He didn’t really have much time to focus on _why_ , because somehow, he had access to every dreamscape in the house.

The whiteness faded, and his eyes landed on the same ceiling he always woke up to, albeit black and white, completely colorless. He sat up, rubbing his messy head of blonde hair, eyebrows raising as he could visibly see his breath in the air. The sense of coldness struck him just as quickly, and he clutched at his arms, slightly confused why his body felt so chilly. Humans and their feelings – he’d never be able to understand how they worked.

Whose dreamscape was he even in? And how in the world did he do that in his sleep? He slipped out of his chair and began padding in his bare feet through the colorless shack, sure to steer as clear as he could of the living room. Strangely enough, the shack looked similar as it always did, with only a few changes. He walked into the kitchen, picking up a glue-covered scrapbook off the table.

He couldn’t help but grin a little at the sight of something that reminded him of Mabel. Every time he thought about her lately, he would get this stupidest feeling, like someone’s lighting his chest on fire. But the fire…it’s comfortable. Much like everything else he felt, he couldn’t really explain it. All he knew was that she was the one thing in this stupid dimension that could actually make him feel…some semblance of content. Lord help him, Mabel Pines had somehow wormed her way into the exclusive list of people Bill doesn’t hate with a burning passion. To say that he was shocked about that is quite an understatement.

His eyes drifted over, and he noticed next to the scrapbook was a pair of glasses – Stanley’s – with the lenses cracked and shattered. Dipper’s hat was on the table, next to Stanford’s journal, both crackling with colorless fire. Whose mind was this….?

And then Bill looked out the window.

Mabel was backing away from something, eyes wide and horrified, hair messy and cheeks tear stained. Bill blinked in surprise, looking from the scrapbook to the girl outside. This was Mabel’s mind, Mabel’s _dream_. If he would’ve guessed how Mabel’s dreams were, he’d have imagined colors and music and…well, he _did_ design a prison bubble for her that hurt his eyes to even think about. Why would her dreams be like this? He fixed Stan – he actually did something good for once, and Mabel could sleep easy now. Or at least she was supposed to. He hadn’t been wrong when he told her she lost her color…

Bill’s attention was snapped back to the window as Mabel suddenly cried out, body levitating into the air, feet kicking out from underneath her.

“Whoa! Hey, Shooting Star—!”Bill was instantly hit with blinding panic, not even bothering to try and avoid the living room as he ran out the front door. He skidded to a halt in the grass, the air burningly cold around him as he looked up to see Mabel in the air, tear-stained and pleading for her life. Two feelings that were very clearly shock and defensive anger welled up inside of Bill – _he_ was the only one allowed to cause her misery, and he could feel burning cold fire crackling in his knuckles.

 “Please, don’t kill them!” Mabel gasped out, hair falling over her panic-stricken face, snapping Bill’s attention back to her, “It’s _me_ that you were supposed to kill! You were going to choose me! You have to take _me_!”

“Geez, Shooting Star…” Bill breathed distressingly, running a hand through his hair. Seeing her like this…it was tearing him apart. He didn’t know when he decided he was supposed to protect her, but he felt like he was failing, watching that usually bright face look so scared. He needed to do something, need to save—

“That’s the price you have to pay, Shooting Star! You were the one who started this, and now they have to pay for it!”

Bill blinked, eyes wide as his heart just about stopped beating in his chest. Slowly, dreadfully, his eyes moved from Mabel’s petrified face to the being she was pleading to. His eyes landed on Dipper, Stan, and Ford, all stuck and struggling in a big spidery hand. A spidery hand that was….that was…

It was his hand.

He watched as the triangle form of himself, huge and villainous and smug, hovered above Mabel, holding her family in one hand and using the other to keep her body floating in the air. Bill’s breath caught in his throat, big eyes trained on the triangle in the sky before snapping over to Mabel. She was _petrified_ , crying and begging for her family’s life – for her _own_. The triangle’s fingers came together as if they were going to snap, and Bill’s mind flashed back to the Fearamid, his own gleeful threats echoing through his head.

_I think I’m gonna kill one of ‘em, just for the fun of it!_

It hit Bill all at once – this was how she saw him.   
He was her worst nightmare.

How…how could she—?! He didn’t even—! Mabel…she was never really afraid of him! She was always the one to stand up to him, to spray paint in his eyes and try and defeat him with her stupid quirky things! She _can’t_ see him like this! She never has! This shouldn’t even bother him. Mabel Pines is just a _stupid kid_ , he shouldn’t care what she thinks of him! And this is a dream – he shouldn’t even be worried about her in the slightest! He—

Suddenly everything in the dream snapped, and then he was back looking at the ceiling again, except it’s in color. Mabel let out a gasp, and he turned to see her sitting up in bed, looking panicked with her hand over her heart. He opened his mouth, but didn’t even know what to say. He didn’t even have time to think about it, because when Mabel turned and saw him, she practically screamed.

 “B-Bill—! Y-you…you’re a person now…you’re a _person_ …” Mabel gasped assuredly, more to herself than anyone, running a hand through her hair. Bill had to look away from her, because he _couldn’t_ see her looking so devastated because of him. And he didn’t even do anything today! No, she was just dreaming about him…about how he nearly killed her, and oh lord, _why_ did she have to have that nightmare…

Mabel got control over herself, letting out a breath and she wiped at her eyes. Her eyes landed on him, and she seemed to be surprised that he was awake as well, an embarrassed blush covering her cheeks. “O-oh, Bill, uh, sorry…did I wake you up?”

“ _No_ , but thank goodness someone woke _you_ up before I snapped my fingers and killed you, right?” Bill snarled bitterly, hands balling into tight fists. He’s never heard his voice come out so…hurt before. And frankly, he’s never _felt_ this hurt before.

Mabel’s eyebrows rose in shock, voice small, “You…you can still see people’s dreams?”

“I can, and let me tell you, yours was definitely interesting,” he sneered angrily. “Honestly, I should’ve known the whole time. You’re nice to _stuffed animals_. I should’ve known you would never actually…” He trailed off, crossing his arms tighter as he clenched his teeth. He said to himself quietly, “…I don’t know what I was expecting.”

 “I-I don’t…I didn’t mean…” Mabel started off, but she obviously didn’t know what to say. There was nothing to say to fix this, so why try, right? That made him feel worse. And then Mabel’s voice came out so small, “I didn’t mean to dream that…i-it’s…you didn’t do anything today t-to trigger it, I just…have them a lot.” Neither of them said anything for a while, her big eyes boring into him as he tried to keep himself from setting the entire room on fire.

“If I had known that was how you felt about me, I wouldn’t have let myself _actually think_ this could work,” he said hotly, gaze burning into his hands because that was the only thing that was grounding him right now. This was why he didn’t let himself care about anyone. It’s always _himself_ who saves him – always himself that he has to look out for. People aren’t dependable, people let you down…and that’s why he didn’t have anyone anymore.

 “Bill…” Mabel stood up, looking miserable as she took a step closer to him.

“Nope! We both saw the same thing, Shooting Star,” Bill hissed, standing up hotly, “No matter what I do, everything is exactly the same! I think you’ve made it abundantly clear that I’m still the thing that haunts your dreams.”

Mabel sighed anxiously, wringing her hands, “I-I can’t just _overlook_ everything that happened! You—”

“I overlooked everything _you_ did to _me_!” Bill yelled, throwing his arms out, “I’m living here with _Stanley Pines_ and _you’re_ the one having nightmares about _me_?!”

 “Bill—”

“I haven’t done anything to hurt you since we made this bond! I’ve gone out of my busy schedule to do things that make you happy, and I don’t even know why! I’m supposed to hate people! But…” He rubbed his tired eyes, voice hardly able to be heard, “Why do you still see me like some sort of monster?”

 “Bill, I’m sorry…” Mabel reached out a hand for him, but thought better of it, pulling it back and wringing it in front of her.

“No you’re not.”

“I can’t just _forget_ that you possessed my family, you started the apocalypse and put me in a—”

“Yes, I’m _aware_ , okay!” Bill hissed, but his voice catches at the end, revealing the raw emotion that’s there. “A-and like I told you before, I don’t regret any of it! J-just because we hang out…it doesn’t mean that I actually…care…”

He knew how his voice sounded like the exact opposite. And that just bothered him more. He _does_ care. Mabel walked in front of him, looking up at him with big glassy eyes that he couldn’t quite meet.

“It’s…it’s not something I can just get over,” Mabel stressed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “What you did…it was a lot for a twelve year old kid to deal with. You tricked me into starting to apocalypse…you almost killed me and my family…y-your fingers were just about to snap when Stan saved me…”

It would’ve been her. They both knew that. She wouldn’t have been here to make the deal with him, to hang out with him and spend time with him. She would’ve dropped to the floor as the snap of his fingers rang through the air, lifeless and gone. He didn’t really ever think about it – but here Mabel was, dreaming a colorless, horrifying dream about it. Oh lord, he’s going to be sick. He leaned against the wall, clutching his stomach, because he’s never felt like this before.

 “I-I wish I could just get over it,” Mabel sniffed, hugging herself, and to Bill’s absolute horror, he sees tears begin to roll down her cheeks. “I-I’ve tried…I’ve tried to let it go, but…it’s not that easy sometimes. A big part of me doesn’t even _care_ that I almost died….I care b-because….if Stan hadn’t gotten better, I would’ve always blamed myself. It was _me_ who gave you the rift, _me_ who started it all in the first place, and if I hadn’t then Stan would’ve never had to—”

 “I _know_ , Shooting Star!” Bill grabbed her by the shoulders, feeling tears rise to his own eyes. He saw them flitter down her cheeks, and he shook his head, because he will _not_ cry. He will _not_ cry—! “I _know_ and I’m _sorry_! I wish I would’ve known who you actually were back then, because if I had taken the time to get my pompous triangular head out of my ass and actually _pay attention_ to the world around me, I would’ve realized that there are more important things than trying to take over the world! I would’ve realized that you would be the only friend I’ve ever had and the only person I’ve ever actually liked being around, and then now I wouldn’t feel so bad about putting you through what I did! And I know there’s nothing I could ever do to convince you of that, but—!”

Bill’s words were cut off as Mabel slammed into him, and for a second he thought he was getting attacked by her, when really, she was giving him a hug. Her face was buried into his suit coat, shoulders shaking, and he instantly threw his arms around her and hugged her back. And for the first time in his entire existence, it dawned on him. He was crying. He felt so helpless and vulnerable, especially when Mabel pulled away from him and looked at his face. She saw the tears rolling down his cheeks, and he watched as she blinked, watching him cry for what seems like an eternity. He couldn’t push her away, or turn his head, because a part of him felt like he owed her this. After all he put her through, she should get to see him completely break over it.

To his surprise, Mabel’s thumbs come to his cheeks and wipe his tears away. He sniffled, leaning into her touch and closing his eyes, more tears rolling.

“Bill,” she whispered, leaning upwards and pressing her forehead against his, “It’s okay. It’s…it’s okay now.”

He sniffled, shaking his head, “I-it’s not…but…” He grabbed her hands, pressing one of them against his heart, “As long as I’m here, I’m going to make up for it.”

Mabel hugged him again, and Bill dropped his head against hers as he tried to keep from crying again. He wondered when he got so…emotional…but he knows it goes hand-in-hand with the day he started caring about Mabel.

They’re quiet for a long time, until Bill quietly muttered, “Don’t have any more nightmares about me, kid. You…you don’t have to worry.”   
He pulled away from her and held out his pinkie, and her eyes lit up, her pinkie wrapping around his and shaking it.

“I hate to break a pinkie promise, but I can’t exactly promise you I won’t have any more nightmares,” Mabel flashed him a teary smile. Bill looked irked by this, but then he snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up.

“So, I have a little bit of power in me apparently,” Bill explained, “And I might still be able to fix that little nightmare problem of yours. How often do you have ‘em?”

Mabel looked sheepish, “Do you really want to know?”

“Probably not,” Bill grumbled, wiping at the last few tears in his eyes. “But really! Let me try and work some Bill Cipher magic!”

Mabel nodded for him to continue. Bill thinks for a second, then turned to her, hands coming to either side of her face. Mabel’s eyelashes fluttered, and he temporarily stalled, just kind of looking into her face. He cleared his throat, apples of his cheeks blushing pink, as he muttered something to himself and slowly moves in. Mabel’s eyes widened in complete shock as she felt soft lips brush against her forehead, and then he moved away, clearing his throat.

“There. No more nightmares,” he dusted off his hands. He glanced over at her to see her touching her forehead, a small smile she was probably not aware of dancing on her face. He couldn’t help but grin a little at it, getting up from the bed and stretching as he slumped back to his chair. Mabel got back under her covers, turning off the light.

“Goodnight, Bill,” she said warmly, sleep falling over her like a warm blanket.

“Sweet dreams, Shooting Star,” Bill sighed tiredly, hoping she really does have nice dreams about him as he fell into his own dreamless sleep.


	8. Different Types of Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing pretty good on writing, so expect more frequent updates!  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

“Grunkle Stan, we’re restocking the gift shop today! Soos’s orders!” Mabel chimed dutifully, linking her arms with Dipper and Ford as they strolled in to the Mystery Shack gift shop. Bill looked up from where he sat behind the desk, feet up and a trashy magazine in his hands (he found Ford’s stash of celebrity pop magazines and had been binge reading them ever since), trying to conceal a smile as Mabel grins across the room at him.

“He asked us if we could please restock,” Ford clarified for Stan, who chuckled and finished buttoning up his suit. Bill vaguely remembered hearing that the other guy who lingered around here had come back in town. Mabel told Bill his name, but Bill frankly wasn’t listening – he had to remember the names of three other people for her sake, and those were three names too many.

“Well, while he’s on leave with his new kiddo, Mr. Mystery is comin’ outta retirement for the day!” Stan grinned at himself in the mirror. “Sure has been a while since I’ve stuffed this body into a suit. Woof.”

 “Yes, we can all tell,” Ford teased, which was answered with a hair noogie and a punch to the shoulder. Bill rolled his eyes – he kind of liked it better when those two hated each other; it created much more hilarious family drama. What he really cared about, though, was avoiding Stanley, so he tried to make himself as little known as possible, burying his face into the magazine in front of him.

“Hi William!” Mabel sang cheerfully, waving animatedly. Damn it. Bill tossed away the magazine, groaning. Why did the universe hate him like this? First he was forced to care about a Pines, now he was forced to have to be noticed in the same room as the rest of them. He just couldn’t catch a break!

“Ah, blondie!” a gruff voice said, “I was lookin’ for you earlier. Need your help today.”

Bill looked up with dreadful eyes, ice sliding throughout every vein as he saw _Stanley_ acknowledging him. Well, karma had caught up with him after all. “You need my…” Stan’s words registered to him, and he felt like he was being slapped in the face, “—Wha?”

“Help, genius, you ever heard of it?” Stan snapped back, tightening his bow tie in the mirror. _‘Have I ever heard of help? Hmm, maybe, considering I was the one who saved your life!’_ Bill wanted to growl out, but he glanced at Mabel and bit down hard on his tongue.

 “Depends on what you need it for,” he forced himself to snap out. Mabel was eyeing him worriedly, a sort-of frown set on her face, which lifted his spirits marginally. Any time he got evidence that Mabel cared about him, he couldn’t help but feel like he was on cloud nine.

“You’re gonna run this tour with me,” Stan said firmly. Bill looked left to right, before looking back to Stan as if he was insane.

“Hah, you hear that, Mabel? Your uncle’s finally gone senile.” Bill laughed, wiping a tear away from his eye. “Really, what did you want? I’ve got a trash magazine to get back to.”

“I’m bein’ serious, you knucklehead!” Stan walked over, bonked him on the head with his 8-ball cane, “Do somethin’ with that mop of hair of yours, put on a suit, and let’s go!”

 “Hey, hey, no way!” Bill blanched, waving his hands animatedly, “I-I have no idea how to do any of that tourist-guide stuff! If you want to lose business, sure, put me out there, but—”

 “Trust me kid, I’d love to have anyone else do it, but Soos has already put the kids and my brother up to task, and I’m not feelin’ well enough since I’ve been sick to be back out there completely,” Stan said impatiently, throwing in a dirty look and an eye roll. “You’re stayin’ in my house for free, I’m not questioning _why_ , and don’t forget I can kick your ass out at any time! So get to it!”

Stan walked out of the room, leaving Bill sitting there, stunned. He blinked, a piece of blonde hair falling over his eye as he stared into space like a deer in headlights. No. No way, Stan did _not_ just ask him to lead a tour with him. He does _not_ have to spend a day w-with the person who…

“Aw, come on William!” a loud voice popped up next to him, causing him to squawk and fall out of his chair. He looked up to see Mabel beaming at him, and she leaned in to whisper, “You and Stan can finally get some bonding time in! Maybe you’ll realize he’s not as bad as you think!”

“I would rather throw myself into the bottomless pit,” Bill crossed his arms, tipping up his chin indignantly.

“Please?” Mabel shook his arm a couple times.

“No.”

“ _Please_?”

“No!”

“Bill,” Mabel frowned, “Can’t you do this for me?”

He side-eyed her, noticing her frown and big eyes, before he let out a breath of air and let his own eyes roll. He shoved her face away, unable to mask a small smile, “You’re manipulative, you know that?”

“I only learn from the best!”

Bill grinned at her – maybe this won’t be as bad as it could be, as long as Mabel’s there with them. He opened his mouth to say as much, but was interrupted by a voice outside.

“Hey, Mabel dude! You wanna pick up the new shipment of grappling hooks?”

Mabel squealed before leaping away from the gift shop, shouting Bill a ‘good luck!’ before scurrying out. Great. Bill rubbed his temples, letting out an exasperated breath of air before trudging upstairs to go find a suit.

* * *

Well, the tour was going basically how Bill expected it to. Stan was demanding and condescending to him – he assumed he’d be as much, and he’s gotta give him a little credit for sticking to his guns. It was…weird being around Stan. It was weird being the only one who knew he was really Bill Cipher – while Stan called him William and treated him like he wasn’t his enemy. He managed to keep his cool and to not freak out, but there were moments Stan would nudge him or glare and him and he’d feel like he was about to panic. It made him feel…kind of pathetic. And that wasn’t a fond emotion to him at all.

The two of them ended up leaning against a fence during the free time between the morning and the afternoon rush, with nothing at all to say to each other. Which was good – he didn’t _want_ to have to speak to Stan. He didn’t even want to _be here_ with Stan! If he was going to be stuck with a Pines, he’d much rather it be Mabel. Speaking of, he looked around the yard to see if he could spot her, when instead, his eyes landed on a familiar face.

“Hey, I remember that guy! That’s the handyman, and let me tell you, do _not_ bring up British dog men around him,” Bill pointed to Question Mark with a laugh, who was standing at the edge of the tour with a woman.

“Yup! His name’s Soos,” Stan said proudly, “Just had a kid, that’s why we’re workin’. Look at the little guy!” Bill tilted his head, not missing the happy gleam in Stan’s eye, as he saw the picture in front of him more clearly. Soos, apparently, was standing with his arm around the woman…and he had a tiny human in the cradle of his one arm. Bill stared at them, mystified.

 “He has a family,” Bill breathed, surprised he still remembered the word. Of course, the word brought forward the memories, and he quickly banished them away, refusing to let his mind flash to what he himself used to consider ‘family.’

“He’s just addin’ on to the big one I’ve got right here,” Stan boasted. Bill had never heard Stan talk this happily about anything before. He definitely was proud of his family…which was absurd, because why be proud of someone that isn’t yourself? At least between the two of them, Bill could pride himself on being a more self-absorbed villain!

“You got a family?”

Bill’s eyes snapped to Stan’s, and his back straightened at the question. He opened his mouth, the ‘ _I did_ ’ on his tongue, but he held it back. He didn’t think about that anymore…and he especially didn’t talk about it with Stanley. “No. I don’t.”  
  
Stan grunted in response, at least having the decency not to ask. Bill’s eyes caught again on Soos and his family…and he couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to have his own family. Which was completely insane – he’d _never_ be able to have a family. They’d be in danger, he didn’t even _want_ one…but…

Mabel probably wanted one. And Mabel had a boyfriend. Did that…did that mean Mabel would have a family someday? The idea of her having a family with some other jackass bothered him to a new level. And who was this alleged _boyfriend_ anyways? If this guy was so great, how has he never even—

Stan crossed his arms, eyeing Bill assessing. “I can tell Mabel likes havin’ you around.”

Bill blinked, pausing before a small proud smile cracked on his face, “Ya think so? She’d be completely bored without me, the light of her life!”

“Yeah, I’ll just bet,” Stan said a little too knowingly. The two of them were silent, and Bill’s eyes traveled over in search of Mabel again. He spotted her inside the shack, laughing and continuously punching her brother’s arm, and he couldn’t help but beam at the sight of her.

“Ah, I know that look.”

“What look?”

“You got a thing for my grandniece,” Stan nudged Bill a bit too forcefully, who jolted and looked at him in surprise.

“Wh—?!” He balked, taking a step back, “Pffft, no! I don’t—”

“Yeah, uh-huh,” Stan rolled his eyes, taking a sip out of his Pitt Cola. “I see the way you make those goo-goo eyes at her. Ya know she has a boyfriend, right?”

“Hey, I don’t make _any_ type of eyes at her!” Bill waved his hands, heat creeping up his face, “Trust me, I’m n-not interested in Mabel at all! She’s my, uh, friend! Yeah! That’s been established! And I only feel friend things for her!”

“I’m a professional conman, kid,” Stan leveled him with a look. “And let me tell you, if I thought you stood an actual chance, I’d be kickin’ your ass to China right now.”

“I _don’t_ have any _disgusting_ human feelings for Mabel. What you call ‘love’ is just a social construct to help you sleep better at night mixed with a chemical imbalance,” Bill said stiffly, crossing his arms vehemently. He paused, glancing back at Stan, “But why do you think I don’t stand a chance?”

“Like I said, she’s got a boyfriend. He ain’t any less of a little shit than you, but he’s come a long way, ya know? I used to hate him a lot, but, I guess he kinda earned a little bit of my trust. Not that I still wouldn’t kick his ass if he did somethin’ to upset her.” Stan shrugged, leaning against the fence as they watched a group of tourists come in. Bill carefully leaned next to him, although he kept a good amount of distance between them. He wanted to argue that he was _way better_ than any jerk Mabel was dating – he could go off on a list about his highly attractive, suave, redeemable qualities. He could blow any guy she was dating out of the water! He held his tongue though, eyes flashing to Stan’s fists, hating the shot of fear that automatically ran through his spine. _He’s…he’s not going to punch you. Get a hold of yourself._

“So…who is he, anyways?” he asked, nonchalantly. He’s heard so much about this boyfriend of hers, yet nobody will ever tell him anything! He made a mental note to yell at Mabel about this – he was supposed to be her established ‘friend,’ yet he was scavenging information about her boyfriend from _Stanley_ of all people.

“Woulda thought she’d tell you,” Stan smirked at him, “Maybe you’re not as good of friends as you think.”

“We are!” Bill argued, arms crossed defensively, “But I’m still trying to figure out this whole ‘boundaries’ thing.”

“Well, aren’t you the gentleman,” Stan snorted through his teeth, smiling amiably at a group of people walking by. “If she hasn’t told you, she must have a reason. I sure as hell ain’t talkin’ to you more than I have to.”

“Eh, whatever. I’ll figure it out eventually,” Bill muttered, hoping eventually would be soon so he could start plotting ways to make this guy’s life a living hell.

“I’m just tellin’ ya, kid,” Stan leveled him with a cold look, “Do anything to hurt Mabel in any way, you won’t live to see another day. Got it?”

“I don’t want to hurt her. I…I don’t even think I’m _capable_ of hurting her at this point,” Bill muttered to himself, bitter because it was actually kind of true. He couldn’t hurt that girl even if he tried, because he didn’t _want to_. Everyone else in the Pines family? Sure, he could do whatever he wants. But he just…he didn’t like seeing Mabel upset. He wished he wasn’t here, talking to Stan right now – but he’d do it for her. It kind of scared him how much he would do for her, if she asked him to.

“You’d be surprised how you can hurt the people you care about,” Stan sighed to himself, so quietly that Bill almost didn’t catch it. But he did, eyes snapping to Stan, who was looking at Dipper, Mabel, and Ford across the lot. They were all smiling and laughing, wearing new t-shirts that promoted the shack and carrying boxes of snow globes. Bill stalled, unsure of what to say, but feeling some odd kind of…pulling in his chest. Stan didn’t actually blame himself for the nightmares, did he? Bill shook away the feeling, grinding his teeth. No, it served Stan right – he deserved to feel guilt, after all he put Bill through. If it wasn’t for Mabel sacrificing for him, he wouldn’t even have been strong enough to make it.

“Hey, whattya standin’ around for? You got work to do if you want to stay around here, kid,” Stan smacked at his back roughly, shoving him towards the Shack.

“Yeah, yeah,” Bill rolled his eyes, waving Stan off as he trudged back to the Shack. Honestly, he should’ve made a deal with a traveling celebrity or something. At least he’d be able to leave. He rolled his eyes at the thought, wishing he could get away from this damn mad house, when something bumped his shoulder.

He wheeled around to see Mabel walking past him, long brunette hair flipping as she looked back at him and smiled happily. And she just…she looked so happy to see him. He didn’t even realize he was grinning stupidly back at her, nearly smacking right into the totem pole as he barely noticed it in time and stumbled around it. He heard giggling – obviously Mabel, laughing at his expense per usual.  Maybe his presence was rubbing off on her after all!  He grinned proudly to himself, and then he heard another laugh, turning to see Stanley chuckling at him.

“Hey, Will, I need ya to take Sixer down his food. I’m gonna lead the next tour,” Stan called to him. Bill shifted uncomfortably – he’d been trying his best to avoid Fordsy. He could tell that guy was a stone’s throw away from figuring him out – it was always constant suspicious questions and skeptical glances from him.  “And hey, watch where you’re directin’ those goo-goo eyes, they almost sent you straight into the bottomless pit!”

Bill couldn’t help but feel his face heat, glaring at the older man as he stormed into the house. Where the heck was Stan getting this insane idea that he feels _romantic emotions_ for Mabel?! He hardly even felt regular emotions for her! She was just his friend who he was forcibly bonded to. The…crying and the hugs and the feelings…those were all just flukes! He hardly even liked hanging out with her, and the way he felt when she would touch him or smile at him or laugh at his jokes had nothing to do with anything. It was just the bond.

It…it was just the bond…right?

Bill rubbed where she shoved against his arm, blowing a piece of hair out of his face in exasperation. This wasn’t a big deal. It was just the bond. It had to be. He repeated this like a mantra as he hastily snatched a plate Mabel clearly made (it was spaghetti formed to look like a smiley face and doused in glitter) for Ford off the counter, typing in the code to the vending machine.

 “Stanford?” he called down, mentally fist-pumping that he remembered not to call him any condescending nicknames.  “Your brother was too busy with a tour, so he made the usual person who does everything around here bring you down your food.”

Nothing happened for a second, and part of him wondered if Ford might’ve finally thought better of being trapped in this awful dimension and built himself a portal out of here. That would be bad for himself, of course – and he _did_ destroy Rick Sanchez’s portal gun already, but still, at least he wouldn’t have to deal with Fordsy anymore.

To his minor disappointment, he heard footsteps, and then Ford was standing in front of him. Bill flatly extended the tray of food to him, rolling his eyes fondly to himself, “Don’t ask about the arrangement, Mabel probably insisted that—”

“Drop the act, Cipher.”

Bill froze, eyebrows raising up to his hairline, “Did I….Did I hear you wrong there?”

“You think I can just forget the mannerisms of the person who ruined my life? I know it’s you, Bill!” Ford hissed, taking a step closer to him. “What did you do to get back here, huh? Stanley _destroyed_ you, and here you are, hanging around with Mabel as if you’re _friends_ or something!”

Well, maybe Ford was smarter than Bill thought, after all. “Whoa, hey, look, I don’t want to be in this dimension,” Bill tried to say easily, “I’m not even planning anything that bad! But I don’t want to be here as much as _you_ don’t want me to be!”

“That’s impossible,” Ford growled, hands balling in and out of fists. “What did you _do_? Why are you hanging around Mabel?”

Bill honestly didn’t know what to say – his brain was short circuiting, and he really just wanted to turn around and walk back up the stairs, but Ford was practically going insane. He gripped at his own fluffy hair, looking panicked, “Did you do something to her, like a spell? Did you hurt her—?”

“No, I just—gah! I’m not trying to hurt anybody, Sixer,” Bill waved his hands, taking a step back, “It’s just the circumstances that—”

“You,” Ford growled through his teeth, grabbing Bill by the collar and practically lifting him off his feet, “Are a _monster_. A monster who’s using my family to worm your way from one dimension into another.”

“Whoa, hey, Fordsy, that’s not—!”

“Do you remember what Mabel was like when you made your deal? She was out of her _mind_ in grief. She couldn’t even look at colors, she felt so down. You took advantage of that,” Ford growled, causing Bill to look away. “And y-you stand here, looking _ashamed_ of it, as if you could feel things! How about Weirdmageddon, Bill? How about _ruining my life_?”

“Damn it, Ford!” Bill stressed, hands shoving at Ford’s shoulders, “I _know_ what I did, but I’m trying to—”

“You’re trying to _what_?” Ford threw his hands up. “You can’t change what you’ve done, or who you are! Don’t even tell me you didn’t make a deal with Mabel to get here!”

“You don’t know anything about it,” Bill hissed, hands balling defensively into fists, “Mabel came to _me_ , and in return, I—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ford shook his head, biting out the words through his teeth, “No, nothing matters to you Bill, after you get what you want. You’ve earned a spot in the Shack, a place with Mabel, and whatever the hell else you wanted. The rest of the world be damned, right?”

“That’s not what happened! She found me, we worked it out! I stay here, Stanley lives! That’s right, _I_ saved your brother! I did what you _couldn’t_ and I stopped his nightmares! We made a mutual deal—!”

“Like she had a choice!” Ford yelled, slamming Bill against the wall again. Bill stared at him with wide eyes, _hating_ that Ford was right. He swallowed, looking away, stomach churning and hands clenching in and out of fists.

“And you know what’s so humorous to me?” Ford laughed practically hysterically, running a hand over his face, “Is that my grandniece thinks so highly of you.”

Ford let Bill go, and he stumbled back, that awful, horrible sinking feeling settling in his gut again, similar to the one he felt when he saw Mabel’s nightmare. He weakly muttered, “She’s using me too, you know. She doesn’t really want me around.”

“That’s the worst part,” Ford smiled sardonically. “She _does_ want you here. She cares about you. She’s the only person who’s ever been able to accept you for all you are, and here you are, slowly breaking her heart. Out of all the terrible things you’ve done…this is one of the worst.”

“I’m a guy who does terrible things for _fun_ , Fordsy!” Bill hissed, blinking away the heat behind his eyes, “You can’t make me feel guilty, because I don’t feel bad and I don’t care about anybody, especially not Mabel! And she _doesn’t_ care about me!”

Bill was breathing heavily, hands clenching in and out of fists, and he-he just wanted to _punch_ Ford, he wanted to light this entire room on fire and _watch it burn_. Ford thinks he knows everything – some genius, huh? He thinks that Bill would ever feel bad, that…that Mabel actually could possibly care about him…because that’s absurd, isn’t it…?

“Bill, I say this with the utmost honestly,” Ford flashed him a sad smile, “I really, really wish you were telling the truth. I wish she didn’t care about you, because we both know you’re going to end up hurting her, and there’s not a damn thing either of us can do about it.”

“Admitting defeat so easily?” Bill sneered, trying not to let Ford see just how much those words got to him.

“Mabel made a big sacrifice for this family,” Ford crossed his arms, glaring daggers at Bill. “I know how these things work, Bill. If I were to find a way to break the deal, it would cut off both ends. You’d be gone, but my brother would pay the price, and I’m not….I’m not putting Stanley into any danger.”

“Putting the safety of one family member over another, I see. And you call me selfish.”

“I’m _not_ letting my brother die,” Ford hissed, shoving harshly at Bill’s shoulder. “At least I can keep an eye on you and Mabel until I figure out a way to sort this out. Trust me, Mabel _will_ be safe, whether you like it or not.”

Bill wanted to scream that he doesn’t want Mabel hurt as much as the next guy, but he knew it was a useless argument. He stormed over to the tray of food he brought Ford, promptly smacking it and letting it splatter onto the floor. “You can go upstairs and get your own food. I won’t be coming back down here.”

Bill didn’t even realize Ford had walked away until he heard a door slam in the distance. He stood in the middle of the room, fists knocking against his legs, before he let out a frustrated growl and stormed into the elevator. The entire way up, he felt like he was going to explode with some sort of emotion.

These damn emotions! This damn human body for making him feel things! He hated this family, he didn’t care about what he did in the past, and he sure as hell didn’t care about—

“Bill?”

The elevator slid open, and there stood Mabel, staring at him concernedly. He balked, staring at her like a deer in headlights, as she grabbed him by the hand and tugged him out of the elevator. He looked down at her hand in his and he felt a warm feeling flutter in his chest, and he knew for sure it wasn’t not the bond that was making him feel this way. It…it was the thing in his chest. The thing he was always so sure he never had.

“How’d it go with Grunkle Stan?” she asked, big eyes looking up imploringly at him. She squeezed his hand softly, “Hey, are you okay?

And he knew – he _knew_ – in that moment that the warm feeling in his chest wasn’t from the bond. It was…he _felt_ for her. Happiness? Contentedness? Something else? It…could it be what Stan thinks…? He didn’t even know…but it was there. And he felt something else too. An emotion he now knew was nothing other than crippling guilt, something he’d been feeling hand-in-hand with the good emotions he felt for Mabel.

“I’m fine, Shooting Star,” he mumbled, brushing past her and into her room. He slammed the door behind him, and he had the feeling she was waiting worriedly on the other side.


	9. Making Exceptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

“I can’t believe you’ve never had a sleepover before!”

“How can you not believe that? I’m still not really sure what this is! We share the same room, why do we need an official party for it?”

“Geez, and I thought you knew how to party!”

Mabel laughed and threw a potato chip teasingly at Bill, who sat back on his palms and glared fondly at her. She had no idea how she managed to talk Bill into this – after spending all this time with him, she’d learned if she nagged him enough, he’d eventually give in. And it wasn’t just for her benefit – nearly every time, Bill ended up discovering a new thing he thought was fun!

Mabel couldn’t help but smile warmheartedly at the most recent fun thing she made him do, which was to go get ice cream **.** She had been eating some, Bill had no idea what it was – and then she instantly decided it was impossible to be a true human and not have eaten ice cream. He had stared at it curiously, remembering how to use his spoon as he tried it – and it was like his eyes _exploded_ with light. Mabel always loved doing good deeds for other people and making them happy…and surprisingly enough, sometimes it could be the most rewarding when it was for Bill.

Today, the two of them were sitting on couch cushions and blankets in Mabel’s sleepover-ready room. There were big sheets laced with bright Christmas lights craftily hanging above them and all around the room, giant bags of snacks, and one of her pop song CD’s playing on a glittery stereo. Oh, and they were both required to wear pajamas – he was in yellow ones with triangles, Mabel in her favorite glittery ones that made her look like a human disco ball. And honestly – they were just sitting around, and Mabel was actually having a lot of fun!

“ _Please_ , I’m the king of partying in at least a quintillion different dimensions!” Bill said proudly, poking her on the nose, “ _You_ have no idea how lucky you are to be in the constant presence of _me_ , Bill Cipher!”

“Hmm, I don’t see a one-eyed triangle anywhere around here,” Mabel teased, giggling as she poked his arm, “You sure you’re Bill Cipher?”

“Very funny, kid,” Bill rolled his eyes with a smirk, shoving her face away.

“I’m still curious where you got that body,” Mabel said thoughtfully, sitting back on her palms as she shoveled some chips into her mouth.

“I told you, it’s mine!”

“Why would you need one?”

“To conserve energy,” Bill shrugged. Even though she could tell he was leaving a lot out of his explanation, Mabel wasn’t going to say anything more. Bill’s spontaneous temper tantrums weren’t the most pleasant thing in the world (it usually consisted of a grumpy Bill for the rest of the day who won’t talk to her). But then he grinned at her, crossing his arms, “Plus, how are you gonna fall in love with a triangle?”

Mabel felt her cheeks grow pink, half-laughing and half-embarrassed for whatever reason, “Fall in love?! You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Nope. By the end of all this, you’re going to be hopelessly in love with me, and not just because I’m ‘acute’ guy.”

Mabel swatted at his arm, unable to help but laugh from the terrible pun. “I hope you’re not trying your terrible flirting with me again.”

Bill’s flirting when she first met him was horribly annoying and made her want to punch him in the face. But now? If this was constituted as flirting, she found herself kind of charmed by it. But then again, _everything_ Bill seemed to do these days was…well, _cute_. His smile, his laugh, his jokes and the way he was actually a really great friend. When she thought of Bill…it was like her whole heart was dancing in her chest. And she refused to recognize what that means, because she _had_ a guy her heart was supposed to do a happy dance for. But for her boyfriend…it…it wasn’t like this. The thought worried her to no end, but she looked over at Bill and couln’t help but smile.

“If my flirting is so terrible, then why are you falling in love with me?” Bill raised an eyebrow haughtily, Mabel laughing warmly and swatting his arms away.

“I’m not falling in love with you, you dork!”

“Say what you want, but you can’t lecture me on not lying anymore if you’re gonna—”

Bill was cut off as Mabel promptly picked up a nearby pillow and whacked him in the face with it. She grinned challengingly at him, kind of hoping for one of his little freak outs, because sometimes they could be just so adorable.

“Oh ho ho, you wanna play this game, Shooting Star?” Bill grinned deviously, holding up his pillow threateningly, “I’ve gotta warn you, I’m—”

He was hit again with her pillow, and then she shrieked and laughed as he jumped up and began chasing her. The two ran around her room, chasing and hitting each other with pillows, feathers flying everywhere. She’d felt happiness so many times in her life – but with the bond, it was increased by two, and she felt like she was flying. And Bill! He was cackling and running around, eventually grabbing her and knocking her over before promptly stuffing his hand into his pillowcase, pulling out a wad of feathers, and shoving it into her face.

“Aw, Bill! Feathers in my nose, feathers in my nose!” Mabel laughed, waving her arms around as Bill laughed maniacally. She couldn’t help but feel pride for Bill – he was actually having fun, actually feeling happy! Plus he was trying new things – and behaving a little better! She honestly couldn’t believe he went on that tour with Stan! He did look…shaken up afterwards, but he really just had to get over his fear of her Grunkle and start getting along with him!

Mabel decided she didn’t want the fun to end, so she tackled Bill across the floor, grabbing some feathers and waving them around his face, tickling his nose. He broke out into cackling laughter, kicking his long legs and trying to shove her off.

“S-Shooting Star, s-st-stop!” he laughed desperately, sneezing animatedly as a feather went up his nose.

 “Bill Cipher is ticklish!” Mabel yelled, laughing as Bill tried to cover her mouth.

“I-I am n-n-n-ot—!!”

“Admit it!”

“No!”

Mabel tossed the feathers away and started tickling him, laughing as Bill half struggled and half kicked his legs in laughter. “Sh-Shooting Star - _haha!_ –I swear, I-I’m going to—”

“You’re going to what?” Mabel challenged through his giggles, still tickling him.

“Aha!” Bill grabbed both of her hands, flashing her a cunning grin. Mabel realized her hands were on top of Bill’s heart, which was beating rapidly, and her giggles slowly died down as she looked at him. And he just…

He was still grinning from his laughter, blonde hair messy, a couple pieces in front of his wild blue eyes. He seemed to notice how close they were at the same time she did, and his eyes flicked from his hands around hers to her eyes. The moment seemed to just freeze time, and Mabel felt like her heart was skipping beats as Bill’s fingers curled around hers, like he was holding her hand. Mabel didn’t know when she started leaning closer, but she could see the faintest freckles on his cheeks and nose and she _really_ _wanted to kiss him right now and—_

“Shooting Star,” he said quietly, squeezing her hand again before his eyes lock with hers, “I—"

A familiar scream rang through the air, and Mabel and Bill both jolted in alarm. Mabel paused, let the scream play back in her head…and her blood ran cold. No, no…it couldn’t be—

She heard it again, and then she pushed off Bill and scrambled to her feet, looking wild and panicked as she raced to the door.

“Whoa, whoa, Shooting Star!” Bill caught her by the wrist, looking rightfully worried, “What’s going on?”

She couldn’t even speak. She could hardly even move, she was so terrified, and all she managed was a slow shake of her head before she darted away, running as fast as her feet could carry her in the direction of the scream that sounded the exact same way Stan would yell when he’d awaken from a terrible nightmare. She tripped over her own feet in her panic, blindly racing through the shack with her own heartbeat in her ears until she reached the door to Stan’s room. She stood outside it, saying a silent prayer, before opening the door.

The first thing she saw was Ford at the side of Stan’s bed, and she was too afraid to say anything. Ford nearly instantly realized someone was behind him, and he turned to see her, eyes red-rimmed and panic-stricken. She saw the look as quick as it had came, which Ford tried to mask and failed miserably.

“I…” Ford ran a hand through his hair, messing it further. He looked at her, at a loss of what to say, “I don’t—”

“Great Uncle Ford?” Dipper shoved his way into the room, looking frazzled, “I thought I heard yelling and—” Dipper’s voice instantly dropped off at the look on Ford’s face. He and Mabel stood there, waiting, before Ford finally let out a sigh.

“I-I didn’t want to worry you two,” he whispered, rubbing at his eyes. “But Stanley woke up last night w-with nightmares. And when he woke up, h-he didn’t…”

Mabel slowly walked past Dipper, walked past Ford, until she was at the side of Stan’s bed. He looked ghastly pale and miserably sick, eyes opening to look at her when she gently grabbed his hand.

“G-Grunkle Stan?” Mabel whispered, almost unable to get the words out through her fear, “Do you…do you know who I am?”

Stan looked at her through slightly cloudy and very confused eyes, blinking a couple times, “…I-I’m sorry, kid, but…you must be thinkin’ I’m someone else…I don’t know any Stan….”

Mabel could feel her heart drop into her feet. Stan being sick again was her worst nightmare, and here he was, in the exact same situation he had been all those months ago. She had been willing to do anything to make him better, anything to bring back his memory…and she had done it. She thought she had saved him, but she…she never specified in the deal that Bill had to heal Stan if this ever happened again…

Mabel turned to Ford and Dipper, and she saw Bill standing in the doorway, looking unhappy. She held on tight to Stan’s hand, tears rising to the surface as she whimpered, “I-I don’t…I don’t understand…”

“Grunkle Stan is sick again?” Dipper took a step back, shaking his head, “How? Why?”

“I don’t know,” Ford shook his head dejectedly, “I’ve tried everything, all day, and nothing makes sense! There’s no reason as to why this is happening again! H-he’s been in and out of sleep all day and he keeps waking up screaming f-from the nightmares…” 

It _was_ Stan who screamed, just as she feared. Mabel tried not to cry, her hand over her mouth. She jumped a bit when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Bill, who looked confused and upset. He shook his head helplessly, “Mabel, I…I didn’t…this isn’t my…”

Mabel shook her head before he can even say it, and she grabbed his hand. He held it back tightly, and she looked back to Stan. “I tried so hard and he’s…he’s _still_ going to…”

Mabel couldn’t help it - she started crying into her hands, and then she was stumbling to her feet and running out of the room, just missing Bill’s look of pure discontent. She could still hear the pop music playing in her room, warped and distorted to her ears. She ran into the old attic she used to spend her summers in, curling up onto the window seat and sobbing. Mabel loved helping people, but the one person she tried to help most was the one she couldn’t save.

* * *

Bill waited until Ford had retired to his own room, and he made sure Dipper was still out on the deck with Mabel. The whole Shack was quiet, save for the sound of Bill’s shoes clicking against the floor as he made his way through the house. There was really no question on what to do, and he refused to question why he was doing it. He felt no hesitation as he quietly made sure nobody was watching, and then he opened the door and walked into Stanley’s room.

Just a few hours ago, Mabel was crying her eyes out on the floor, next to Stan’s bed. He peeked over to look at him, and sure enough, he looked exactly the way he did when Bill saw him in the hospital. And when he had seen him that first time, he had felt almost a sense of jealousy, because he wasn’t the one to put Stan there. Now? Now…he felt like someone was tearing him apart inside.  
  


He checked a final time to make sure nobody was watching him, and then he let out a breath. He thought about a burning living room, about that one fatal handshake that cost him everything…and then he saw Mabel. He saw her crying, looking so dejected, and the thought of it alone was too much for what he thought was his heart could handle.

 

He flicked his wrist, mumbling the small incantation under his breath that would heal Stan. He watched as the blue glow settled around Stan’s head, lighting up his entire body before disappearing. He waited just a second, watching some of the color come back to Stan’s face, his breathing going from shallow to something more even. Bill nodded, letting out a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding, before slipping off to bed.

* * *

Mabel let out a desolate sigh as she opened the door to Stan’s room, wanting to check and make sure he wasn’t having any nightmares before she went to sleep. It seemed like she would be falling back into her old routine, then – and she’d take care of Stan as long as he needed her to. But Ford…if Stan was sick again, she didn’t know if he’d be able to take dealing with that all over again. She tried to shake off the sad thoughts as she walked into Stan’s room, trying to be quiet enough not to wake him.

“Ugh, what the…” Stan groaned, rubbing at his eyes where he lay in bed. Mabel mentally cursed herself – he should’ve been getting all the peaceful sleep he could before the nightmares set in more permanently.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she said quietly, wringing her sweater guiltily.

“Eh, I’ve slept long enough,” Stan stretched, glancing at the faux-gold watch on his wrist. “Yeesh, it’s already been the whole day? Geez…”

“I was just coming in to check on you, but I’ll go if you want,” Mabel promised, remembering Stan getting spooked by her back when he first got sick and he didn’t remember who she was.

He looked at her strangely, tilting his head, eyebrows knitted, “Why would I want you to go?” He teased, “What, did ya steal money or somethin’ from me? You know I encourage that kinda stuff, Mabel!”

She opened her mouth to say something, but she froze in her tracks. She felt like she’d gone insane as she whispered, “Did…did you just call me Mabel?”

Stan looked at her as if she had gone insane, eyebrow raising in a bit on confusion, “Uh…am I missin’ something, kiddo?”

“You tell me,” Mabel breathed, dropping to her knees at the side of his bed. She grabbed his hand, big eyes staring at him desperately, “Tell me about what happened a couple days ago at breakfast.”

Stan stared at her strangely, but saw she was too shaken up to do anything but shrug and comply, “A couple days ago…oh, yeah! Heh, Dipper spilled his milk all over Blondie’s jacket! And then the guy started getting’ all angry, and he walked over to Dipper and went to kick him right in the—!”

Stan was cut off as Mabel threw her arms around him in a hug, tears rolling down her cheeks in relief. This had never happened before – when Stan had relapsed, he’d never gotten his memory back this quickly and kept it! She couldn’t believe how lucky she was, and she thanked every star in the sky as she hugged him for everything she’s got.

“Whoa, kid, are you alright?” Stan asked concernedly, hugging her back.

“I-I’m better than ever, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel laughed, “I can’t wait to tell—”

 _Bill_. Mabel thought of Bill, and she thought of how his healing nearly instantly cured Stan the first time. She had been so busy talking to Dipper about what to do for Stan that she had completely forgotten about Bill, and left him to do his own thing. Was…was it possible that he…?

“I’ll be right back,” Mabel promised Stan, standing up and leaving the room quicker than she thought was possible. She found herself racing down the hall until she reached her room, quietly pushing open the door to see Bill, surprisingly,  still awake. He looked tired, but was curled up on his chair with the blanket she knitted him, nose-deep in one of Ford’s big books. He thought Mabel hadn’t noticed his recent fascination with reading. He’d never admit to liking human culture, but he had piles of books and magazines accumulating in his corner of the room. She’d never admit to it, but it was an adorable thing he’d picked up.

He looked up from his book and saw her, blinking a couple times before his face lightened significantly, albeit looking concerned, “Hey, Shooting Star! How are ya doing…ever since…? I couldn’t sleep because I think you’re stressing us out. Not that I blame you or anything, but—”

“Bill,” Mabel whispered, taking a step into the room, “Did you…have you seen Stan?”

Bill blinked at her, before he cleared his throat and shook his head. “Nope, haven’t seen him since we found out the news earlier.” He leaned back in his chair, asking oh so casually, “After all my hard work, I can’t believe he’s sick again. Have you seen him? Is he…better?”

Mabel stared at him, and she could _tell_. She could tell he was lying, she could tell he was acting casual on purpose, and her hand flew over her mouth as her eyes filled up with tears. Bill saw this, and he paled, quickly standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder, “Hey…are you—?”

Mabel swept forward and crushed him into a hug, burying her face into his chest as she cried against him. Bill stood there stiffly, arms at his sides in confusion before Mabel managed to choke out, “ _Thank you_.”

He didn’t say anything, but his body relaxed, and she could hear him snort before returning her hug. “Shooting Star, stop crying,” Bill chuckled, rolling his eyes as he patted her hair affectionately.

“I-I’m sorry, I can’t!” Mabel laughed, voice muffled where it was buried in his chest. She picked her head up, looking into his eyes with her arms tight around him, “Bill…thank you so much.”

“Eh, it was nothing,” he shrugged, earning a bigger smile from Mabel.

She whispered against him, “Bond or not…I’m _really_ glad you’re here.”

Bill rested his chin on her head, humming noncommittally, and the gesture was so aloof yet so warm that Mabel couldn’t help but hug him harder. She didn’t at first, but she wanted Bill here. If he ever left, she knew she’d be devastated. But a part of her…a part of her wanted _more_ than this, and she wasn’t sure what that meant. She did know one thing however, and she hugged Bill tighter, saying these quietly true words like a prayer, “I know I didn’t at first, but…I want you here, Bill. I really want you here with me.”

Bill didn’t respond, and she didn’t expect him to. He wasn’t good with emotions and all that, but she just wanted him to know because he deserved to know she really wanted him here. Everybody, human or not, wanted to feel like someone wanted them. And she did want him. She really, really—

Her thoughts were cut off as Bill placed a soft, gentle kiss to the side of her head. Mabel smiled against his chest, heart full, before she put her hand in his and they walked back to where Bill was sitting.

“What’re you reading?” she asked coyly, noting how he looked put out about someone acknowledging his secret hobby.

“It’s not anything you’d know,” he returned smartly. “Don’t think I haven’t seen those trash romance novels you and your friends read.”

“You like celebrity gossip magazines!” Mabel defended, and Bill rolled his eyes fondly as he settled back into his chair. Mabel glanced back at her bed, noting how she wasn’t very tired at all, before she turned back to Bill. “Well, if I don’t know the book, why don’t you read it to me?”

Bill stared at her for a second, weighing his options before he gave in. He scooted over in his chair, trying to look annoyed but clearly failing as he gestured for her to come over. She grinned as she snuggled next to him, wrapping the blanket around them both. She barely missed Bill glancing at her affectionately before he opened the book and began reading. It doesn’t take her very long to drift off into a contented, nightmare-less sleep.


	10. Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

Bill usually tried to avoid the living room, but on this particular day, he heard something that drew his attention to it. It was a certain voice that sounded unfamiliar and familiar at the same time – one that filled him with a definite annoyance. He shifted uncomfortably at the idea of going into the room, but his curiosity bested him, and he peeked around the corner. 

As always, he saw a blue flash of fire, but it was gone as quick as it came. His eyes only scanned the room for a second before they caught on brunette hair, and he instantly lit up at the sight of his favorite human.

“It’s been way too long since I’ve last seen ya, sugar plum! C’mere, I’ve missed you!”

What. The full picture became clear, and there sat …holy crap was that who he thought it was?! Bill did a double take, and there sat Widdle Gideon in the middle of _his_ —Mabel’s—living room. He almost didn’t recognize him, but the white hair and the cute little pig nose were a dead giveaway! Everything else, however,  had apparently changed. Instead of a little marshmallow, there sat a guy that was probably a good half-foot taller than Bill if he were standing, and it looked like all the baby fat gave away to annoyingly impressive muscles. Bill’s first instinct was to make a grand entrance, maybe annoy the kid a little bit and ask him to do a funny dance – and then he realized why Gideon was here.

Sitting all cuddled up next to him was _Mabel_. Bill blinked, head tilting slightly, because things…weren’t making any sense. Why was Mabel sitting there with…?

“Aww, I’ve missed you too!” Mabel beamed, and then…then he tilted her head up and gave her a kiss.

Bill’s world froze, coming to a standstill, as the revelation hit him like a ton of bricks. Gideon was the illustrious boyfriend. Mabel _really had a boyfriend_ and that boyfriend was _Gideon_ and he just _kissed her_ and they were _still kissing_! A red veil fell over his vision, blood boiling, fists clenching, and he found himself standing up straighter as he stormed into the room.

“Wow! What a hideous day to be alive!” Bill said loudly, causing Mabel and Gideon to turn and look at him. Mabel blinked, cheeks blushing as she raised an eyebrow at him.

 “Hey, William,” she shot him a look, “Do you need something?”

Bill wasn’t really listening – his eyes were trained on Gideon’s hand on Mabel’s knee, the other snaked around her waist. She was practically in his lap. He felt his left eye twitching as he glared sharply at both of them. Since when were child psychos attractive in the eyes of ladies?! And why was someone creepily obsessed with her actually dating her?! Well, there was no way he was leaving these two alone together!

“Just came out to watch some televised broadcasting!” Bill forced a cheerful tone, storming over to the recliner and sitting down in it. Mabel was giving him the worst evil eyes, but he could frankly care less because at least he wasn’t the one dating Gideon—

“You gonna introduce me, Shooting Star?” Bill leaned back in the chair, signaling he wasn’t going anywhere. The man whose lap she was sitting in looked at her strangely, and Mabel rubbed her temples with a sigh, because they both knew not only did Bill already know Gideon, but he literally made him dance for three days straight once.

“This is Gideon Gleeful, my boyfriend,” Mabel said through her teeth, Bill audibly snorting and rolling his eyes. “Gideon, this is my friend, William.”

“Surprising we haven’t ever met, being as I live here and all,” Bill said boredly, glancing at Gideon. He could feel his blood boiling at the sight of that muscled marshmallow, who was body-checking him in a way that made Bill want to snap his fingers and disassemble his molecules.

“He lives here?” Gideon raised an eyebrow at Mabel, who shrugged with a sheepish grin. Gideon blinked, sticking out his bottom lip, “Huh. Well! Nice to meet ya! Any friend of my girl Mabel’s is a friend of mine!” He extended a hand to Bill, who stared at it with a slight glare, not wanting to touch him. Bill Cipher shook hands to make deals, not to greet people like some sort of pansy! And why wasn’t Gideon intimidated?!? Bill was an attractive looking guy who lived with Mabel! Shouldn’t he be intimidated by him!? Just because Bill wasn’t big and buff and amiable didn’t mean Gideon was better than him or something!

“So, you and Mabel, huh?” Bill vigorously shook Gideon’s hand, holding onto his fingers a bit too tight. He could feel Mabel glaring him down, but the red-hot anger he was radiating was kind of pushing his awareness away.

“Yeah, ‘s been goin’ great for a while now!” Gideon replied happily, giving Mabel’s knee a squeeze that just about drove Bill insane. “We were just talkin’ about how now that work is slowin’ down and such I should be around more often.”

 “Oh?” Bill pretended to be interested, even though he was talking through ground teeth. “Well, isn’t that swell. You know what’s funny is, being as I live here and all, I’ll be here too! So it’s like, we’ll all be miserable together!”

Bill plopped down on the couch between them, sitting with his arms folded across his chest as he snatched the remote from Mabel and began flipping through the channels. He made sure to not-so-subtly swat Gideon’s hand off of Mabel’s knee, and he put an arm around both of them just so it wouldn’t be weird that he’s got his arm around Mabel. He glanced over at her, nose twitching, before harrumphing and looking back at the TV with pink cheeks.

He managed to stay this way, crashing Mabel and Gideon’s pathetic excuse for a date night, before Gideon got a call that said he had to go into work. Bill stood there, tapping his foot impatiently, as Gideon gave Mabel a final kiss that had fire crackling throughout Bill’s knuckles, itching to light something…or, someone, on ablaze.

“Man, am I glad _that’s_ finally over,” Bill exhaled when Gideon leaves, slamming the door and dusting off his hands as he began walking away.

“Wh—?! Bill!” Mabel followed him down the hall as she scolded him, “Now is when you leave? You were being a rude jerk today when I was trying to spend time with my boyfriend!”

“Your boyfriend is a one-dimensional asshat,” Bill waved her off, smirking at the way she made a cute little frustrated noise. He turned to her, throwing his arms out, “And seriously though? _Gideon Gleeful?_ That’s just as insane as it is hilarious!”

“He’s different now! You weren’t here for a lot of summers, you know,” Mabel stuck her chin out at him, crossing her arms.

“I _was_ here for the summer where all it took to convince him to be my henchman was to keep you trapped in a prison bubble.”

“And then he gave Dipper the key to save me!”

“And then I made him dance in a sailor suit for three days!” Bill laughed, poking her on the nose. “Speaking of – that Gideon was acting _oh so_ nonchalant, as if I’m not a threat to him or anything! He came to me several different times in need of a deal because he was too weak not to handle his problems himself! Plus, again, _sailor suit_! Just because I’m not buff and tall doesn’t mean that—! Why are you looking at me like that?”

Mabel was smiling at him smugly, leering at him as she crossed her arms knowingly. Bill put his hands on his hips, looking left to right and blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes, “…What?”

“You’re jealous!” Mabel yelled, pointing at him with a huge grin.

“Wh—?! I am not!” Bill sputtered, swatting her hand away.

“Oh my gosh, you’re _so_ jealous of _Gideon Gleeful_!” Mabel laughed, bouncing foot to foot. Bill let out an exasperated noise, waving his arms in frustration before gripping at his blonde hair.

“No! No, I am not jealous of Gideon!” he protested, chasing her a bit to grab her shoulders and keep her steady, “I thought we were established friends! Friends look out for each other when their other friend is dating a child psycho!”

“Mm hm, yeah,” Mabel grinned, patting his cheek before dancing away from him. “It’s totally okay to admit you’re jealous, Bill! You were flirting with me for a while in the beginning there, so…”

“That was just to annoy you!” Bill defended, turning his head away so she wouldn’t see him blushing, “And why do you keep bringing that up like it’s a bad thing?! I’ll have you know that my flirting is a work of art! Do you have any idea how many ladies would kill to have me on their arm?”

“Nope!” Mabel laughed, bouncing over to him before entangling him in a hug. “I’ll be back later, try to cool the jealousy before I come back!”

“Hey, knock it off!” Bill couldn’t keep the fondness out of his voice as he shoved her away, listening to her laugh as she skipped out of sight. He called after her, “And I’m not jealous, Shooting Star!”

He heard the lie and hoped they both believed it.

***

“Hey, Will! Up and at em!”

Bill’s eyes opened to Stanley Pines’ face grinning down at him, and he let out a scream that definitely wasn’t girly. Stan laughed at him as Bill sat up, rubbing at his face as he raised a skeptical eyebrow, “Last I checked, you didn’t like me.”

“Why do you think anything’s changed?” Stan flashed him a grin.

“Well…what do you need me awake for? Free labor?”

“In a way, yes!” Stan bonked him on the head with his 8-ball cane, then leaned on it. He leered at Bill, “Remember when I asked ya if you and Mabel were really friends?”

“Yes,” Bill glared, “And I did meet her boyfriend, by the way. And let me tell you, he’s a real piece of work. Aren’t you supposed to be her overprotective uncle? Can’t you kick his ass or punch him in the—”

“Save your jealousy for another day, kid,” Stan chuckled, causing Bill to harrumph and cross his arms. “I wanna see how good of friends you and Mabel are – do you know what tomorrow is?”

Bill paused, blinking a couple of times. What was significant about tomorrow? Tomorrow was the last day of summer…now that he thought about it, last week was the six-year anniversary of his Weirdmageddon getting foiled. He frowned at the thought – these days, the idea of his apocalypse didn’t fill him with as much pride. For a while now, it had kind of left him feeling…unhappy. Unhappy with his actions, unhappy that it happened…and he knew that these thoughts would’ve disgusted the Bill Cipher of all those months ago. But it was pretty clear he wasn’t the same Bill Cipher he was then, which was a strange thought. Especially since he was pretty sure he knew why.

He thought of Mabel…thought of her laugh and her smile and her eyes and—

“Oh!” He snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up, “It’s Mabel’s birthday tomorrow!”

“Right!” Stan swung at him again with his cane, but Bill managed to duck. “I’m sending her and Dipper on tour duty all day so we can work on the decorations and all the other party crap. Do I have to ask you to help or make you do it?”

 “What’s the difference?” Bill smirked dryly, leaning back on his palms.

“Figured we’d have a better time if I wasn’t forcin’ ya.”

Well, looked like he was going to have to survive yet another day with the older Pines twins. He’d had his fair share of both of them over his span of living here – he’s had to sit through meals and TV specials and stupid human things like that, but that was only because he wanted to spend time with Mabel. And this cause…well, it was for Mabel, and it only took one thought of her happy smile to know he was obviously going to help give her the best party she’d ever seen, his fear of Stan be damned.

Bill sighed through his nose, then offered a shrug, “Fair enough. What do we have to do?”

***

“Are you sure you don’t want to come lead the tour with me?” Mabel teased, earning herself a grin and an eye roll from Bill. She was all dressed up in her tour-leading outfit that mimics Stan’s – bedazzled blue suit jacket, big pink bow, purple skirt, and fez. Even looking blindingly clashing and sparkly, she took his breath away.

“I did that once already, and it’s never happening again,” Bill said indignantly, tipping the fez on her head down so it was covering her eyes. She giggled and he felt his chest warm, and his voice had far too much affection in it as he crossed his arms, “I also hope you know that I’m getting you the best present imaginable for your birthday.”

“Hey! You remembered my birthday is tomorrow!” Mabel beamed, correcting the fez on her head and nudging his arm.

“How could I not? It’s all you’ve been talking about for the past month and a half!”

“You still get credit for listening,” Mabel insisted. “Now…tell me what you’re getting me!”

“What?! No way!” Bill shook his finger at her, “I’m Bill Cipher, surprise extraordinaire!”

“Aw come on! Give me a hint!”

“You can’t weasel anything out of me on this one,” Bill said firmly. “You’re just going to have to wait for tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright,” Mabel stuck her tongue out at him, and he couldn’t help but laugh before she grinned and saluted him in goodbye. He called after her, “Good luck leading the tour! It’s worse than anything imaginable!”

He could hear her laugh as he watched her walk away, and he leaned back against the wall where he stood. He smiled to himself, cheeks warm, as he fought off his own chuckle. It was just…hard not to be stupidly, humanly happy around her. He of course hated the way she made his face feel warm and his chest feel like it was going to explode, but…half of the feeling was also good, almost giddy.

“I swear, I’m gonna have to knock you on your ass, kid.” Bill jumped as Stan took him by the shoulders and turned him around, shoving him in the direction of the shack. Bill nearly panicked, hands waving around as he stumbled forward, but luckily he’d managed to get a little better with forcing himself to be less alarmed around Stan,

“What’d I do now?!”

“Same ol same ol. Flirtin’ with my grandniece.”

“Wh—?! What is wrong with you!? Why do you think that I would ever in a billion year even want to—”

“Just shut it!” Stan laughed, and the sound…surprised Bill. He’d never heard Stan really laugh before. It shocked him enough that he didn’t notice he’d been maneuvered into the living room, where the whole party planning group sat. Soos was hanging up decorations with his wife, the baby nearby in a pen. The redhead was whistling as she decorated the cake—

“What’s he doing here?” Bill turned to see Ford glaring from where he sat on the floor, sitting near a sign he was drawing designs on.

“He’s helpin’ out!” Stan patted Bill hard on the back, and Bill didn’t miss the sharp glare that passed over Ford’s face. Ford didn’t say anything, grumbling as he eyed Stan worriedly, “You’re going to work in the kitchen, right?”

“Don’t worry about it, Sixer!” Stan laughed, “It’s not like he’s gonna kill me or somethin’! There’s no way we’d get these posters done without some help, being as you never replaced the haunted copier machine.”

This was how Bill found himself sitting between Ford and Stan, with one of them knowing exactly who he was and the other painfully oblivious. Ford made idle chitchat with Stan, but said nothing to Bill besides throwing him dirty looks. Stan, however, was who surprised him. Stan _talked_ to him. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Stan was being friendly with him. And this…this threw him for a loop, because he’d spent quite a long time considering Stan one of the most fearsome villains he’d ever encountered.

But…that was the way the Pines saw him, and they were probably (hopefully) wrong. So did that mean that he was wrong about Stan?

“So, you hear about blondie and Mabel?” Stan teased, nudging Bill’s shoulder. Ford’s spine straightened, and he shot Bill a killer glare, “No, I have not?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a total thing goin’ on there. He’s pinin’ after Mabel, you know—the one with the boyfriend?” Stan laughed, and Bill couldn’t help but roll his eyes with a smirk.

“I don’t see _your_ significant other anywhere around here,” he smirked at Stan, surprised when Stan’s eyes lit up at the banter, not noticing the way Ford’s eyes were practically on fire.

“Fair enough. At least I’m not goin’ after somebody who’s already taken,” Stan chuckled.

“And someone who has two great uncles that will kick your ass,” Ford growled. “If I didn’t think Mabel had enough sense not to date _you_ ,” Ford spits, hands tight in fists, “I’d personally make sure you’re removed from this universe entirely.” Ford earned a shoulder pat and an oblivious laugh from Stan, “Yeah, that too! I told ‘im the same thing! Hey, you said you met Gideon, right? Heh, isn’t he a little shit?”

“I wish someone had warned me Mabel was dating the biggest pansy on the planet. Why is she even with him, anyways? She could do so much better!”

“Like you, huh?”

“No! But I am better than Gideon!”

Stan’s face took on more thought, eyebrows furrowing as he scribbled harder at his poster. He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds, Bill and Ford both looking at him in question. “…Did you guys notice Gideon stopped coming around when my health started goin’?”

“I…” Ford stalled, rubbing at his chin in thought, “I suppose you’re correct about that. I didn’t really pay attention to anything but your health at the time…”

“I’ve been living here for a long time now and I hadn’t met him since yesterday,” Bill grumbled, eye ticking at the memory of Mabel in that guy’s lap.

“He’s not there for her,” Stan sighed, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t come to the party tomorrow.” Bill’s fists clenched, and he was filled with the biggest feeling of angry jealousy he’d ever felt in his life.

“You know, I’ve always thought Gideon was an idiot, but this takes things to new levels. He’s dating the best, funniest, smartest, most timeless person in the world…and he’s not even taking advantage of that! If it were me, I’d…I’d…” Bill trailed off, eyelashes fluttering as he looked down at his hands. That…that was weird. Why in the world would he feel so strongly about…about Mabel’s love life? Why in the world does he feel so strongly about _Mabel_?

It…it wasn’t him. He wasn’t Gideon and he wasn’t with Mabel. Not that he wanted to be! Why would he want to be? He was friends with her and that was nearly too much for him to handle. He’d never want to take her on stupid dates or be all disgustingly romantic with her. That was Gideon’s place in her life, not his. Bill couldn’t explain why that made him so burningly jealous and so anxiously longing at the same time. He thinks about Stan’s – basically, everyone’s words that he has feelings for Mabel. He isn’t familiar with these feelings, but when he thinks about Mabel and when he feels like strange, giddy twisting in his heart, he knows what that is and he knows that that means that—

“I can give ya credit for one thing Will,” Stan patted him roughly on the back, causing Bill to snap out of his revelation to look up at him. “ _You’ve_ been here. You were there for Mabel through this whole hell show, and…I gotta thank you for that. You wonderin’ why I’ve let ya stay here? Well…”

Stan smirked to himself, shaking his head, “I think it was almost as bad for my health seein’ Mabel as depressed as she was. All gray clothes and messy hair – it was like something stole the color right ouffa her. And then you come along and suddenly she’s laughin’ again and wearing her sweaters and goin’ to concerts…you did that, kid. Because you were there and you were one helluva friend.”

Bill blinked, tongue feeling clumsy and uncontrollable in his mouth as he stared at Stan. That might’ve been the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him…and it was coming from _Stanley Pines_. He wants everything Stan just said to be true. He wants…everything Stan has ever said to him to be true. And he knows it is. His revelation comes back to him stronger than ever, he’s been hit with these feelings all at once and—“I think you’re right,” Bill blurts, and the proclamation shocks him. He reels back like he’d been slapped, quickly backtracking, “Uh—I mean—I-I try. For Mabel. I-I’m glad that I was here for her.”

“Good. Keep tryin’, for her sake.”

Bill could feel Ford staring at him for what felt like a long time, and then Ford looked away, rubbing his temples. Bill was still stuck on everything that had just happened. He couldn’t categorize how he felt…but clearly he’s had some sort of emotional revelation regarding Mabel. I think you’re right. About what, exactly? About…everything…? Bill rubbed his temples; all these feelings were so new to him, it was so frustrating not to know how to handle them! 

  
His fluttery revelation, however, dimmed when he thought of the hurt that came hand-in-hand with being here with Mabel. Her nightmares, her being stuck with him…he was suddenly very thankful for Stan’s words, because he’d be doubting how much she really wanted to be around him if he hadn’t heard those assurances. What if…what if he got closer to her…and she got hurt? No, no. That couldn’t happen, could it…?

Mabel has had to go through a lot, regardless of what he put her through, and Bill was glad he helped her out of a bad spot. He shifted where he sat on the ground, back twinging, reminding him he had been through a lot too…and reminding him of the reason he made this bond in the first place.

“I’ll be back,” Bill stands up, cracking his back. He began to walk away, but he felt the need to glance back at Stan and add, “…For what it’s worth…that means a lot, to hear that. Thanks.”

It was the first time he’d ever said that word and hopefully his last. It escaped him so easily though, but the shock that accompanied it was nearly deafening. And it wasn’t just surprising to him – although Stan looked wholly pleased, Ford looked like Bill just pulled out a boat oar and whacked him across the face with it. He took some solace in that and whistled as he strode off to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, grinning at himself as he leaned over the sink. He was still getting used to looking like a human – he could remember nearly fainting those first couple months when he’d walk past a mirror. All tan skin and blonde hair and blue eyes – he wasn’t sure how they put together his body, but he was pretty certain they handed him a nice looking one. The scar, however, was this body’s biggest flaw, and biggest reminder of how much he really needed this bond in the first place.

He turned around slightly, wincing as he looked at the huge, blistered scar on his back. Phantom pain snaked down his spine and through his body, and he ran a hand through his hair and clenched his teeth. Just thinking about what he went through to get this scar…it was like he could feel the pain all over again. And the scar was uncomfortably wretched – he’d definitely never let Mabel see it. Jagged skin twisting around itself, blistering and raised and uneven. The only time he had ever heard himself scream – really scream – was when he got this scar. Looking at it closely, he could see the skin faintly glitching and fading, and he pursed his lips. No thinking about any of that now. He’s had a big emotional-revelation day, damn it, and he was going to bask in it.

“Bill Cipher, you’re a good guy,” he said to his reflection, and for some reason, he liked the sound of that, no matter how strange it sounded to his ears.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

Bill wheeled around, face to face with Ford, who was leaning against the door with crossed arms. His eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at Bill’s back in the mirror, and Bill’s face flushed as he stepped away so Ford couldn’t see.

“Aren’t you supposed to be party planning?” Bill groaned, cheeks heated up in embarrassment as he scrambled to put on his shirt.

“I could ask you the same question,” Ford replied flatly. He eyed Bill, adjusting his glasses as he calmly asked, “How’d you get the scar, Cipher?”

“I could ask _you_ the same question,” Bill couldn’t help but smirk, his malicious side rearing its ugly head, “Only, I’d know personally how they got there.”

“Yes, I suppose you would,” Ford shrugged, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Bill sighed as he looked down at his feet – that was kind of uncalled for. “But I want to know how you got that one.”

“You can kiss my—”

“I’m keeping your secret, Bill. I’m letting you stay here. You owe me this much.”

Bill sighed, rolling his shoulders as he shook his head to himself. He let out an annoyed sigh, “Fine. I got it when I faced…someone more powerful than me. This was a part of my punishment, and a part of my way to stay in this body. You happy?”

“Not really,” Ford mumbled, twitching his nose. He looked at Bill again, and his face looked frustrated and lost, “Why are you acting so…different?”

“Care to elaborate?”

“You’re…nice to Stanley. You’ve been mostly civil to me. Stanley is right – you’ve helped Mabel. Perhaps he’s even right that you’re friends with her! I just…I don’t understand how you’ve made such a radical change. You’re still Bill Cipher!” Ford ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated and confused. Bill couldn’t blame him – he felt that way basically every day, especially when he didn’t even know the name of the emotion he was feeling half the time.

“Eh, humanity will do that to you,” Bill shrugged, slipping back on his shirt. “Maybe you lost some of yours over there in the portal. You haven’t been all that nice to the guy who saved your brother.”

“ _You_ wouldn’t have done that without the deal,” Ford snapped. “And maybe it wasn’t humanity. Maybe it was one human in particular.”  

“What does _that_ mean?” Bill raised an eyebrow. 

“It’s obvious Mabel has altered your personality, somehow. Personally, if I thought you were capable of love, I wouldn’t think Stanley is that far off with his observation about you being in hopelessly in love with her,” Ford said smoothly, causing Bill to look at him in shock and bump back into the sink.

“Hey, hey, whoa! Nobody ever said that I—!!”

“Yes, everyone says it. And you’d better be aware they’re wrong.”

“I—!” Bill paused, gaze snapping back to Ford, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t care who thinks you’ve changed…we both know you’re not capable of love, Bill. Don’t try to convince yourself that you are. It will just end up getting Mabel hurt. And yourself,” Ford said darkly, looking grim, “Remember my quantum distabilizer? I still have it, Cipher. And if I find out you and my grandniece really are a ‘thing,’ as Stanley put it, I will use it.”

Bill huffed, rolling his eyes as he muttered, “You don’t need to worry about that, Sixer.”

Ford tapped his foot impatiently, glancing out the door to check to see where his brother was. Bill leaned over, watching Stan wait for Melody to walk by before he grinned and snuck the baby an extra cookie. Ford shook his head fondly, but his face was stony again as he turned back to Bill.

“Stan is right, you’re close with Mabel. And he didn’t say it in so many words, but you’ve somehow gotten some semblance of close with him as well. So…think about that, Cipher, and use it wisely. Don’t hurt anyone – don’t break anyone’s trust like you did mine,” Ford sighed, looking tired. Bill looked away, opening his mouth to ask Ford if he’d ever get that trust back. He didn’t want to ask something so stupid – he knew he never would, and that was reasonable. He didn’t deserve the trust he was given so whole heartedly, then turned around and smashed.

“Sixer…I’m sorry for what I did to you,” Bill sighed, refusing to look at Ford as Ford’s gaze snapped to him. “You don’t have to accept it. You shouldn’t accept it. But I want you to know I know the portal was a mistake – Weirdmageddon was a mistake too. And I wish I had never done what I did to you – here I am, all these years later, and I gained nothing from breaking another man. I…I should have been smarter.”

Ford was quiet for a very long time. He stood in the doorway dumbly, staring at Bill as if he’d grown a fourth head, before he nodded to himself and looked down at his feet. “I should’ve been smarter as well.” He didn’t say anything more as he quietly left the room, leaving Bill standing in the bathroom.

He thought about Ford’s claim about Bill. Was Ford right? Was he…was he even capable of…? He wished he knew what love felt like so he could figure it out. The thought alone of loving someone seemed laughable…but for Mabel…it didn’t seem too farfetched. He actually…he actually might’ve ended up…

Bill looked at himself in the mirror, and he really didn’t know who the person was looking back at him.  



	11. Something Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this one was worth the wait! This chapter is longer than usual! >:)  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

Bill made sure to gently set Mabel into her bed when he woke up at the crack of dawn, yawning as he looked out the window. He’d never told Mabel this before, mostly because he knew she’d think he’s gone too human if she knew. Frankly, his human tendencies had been freaking him out lately. But every morning, Bill Cipher looked out the window of the Mystery Shack and watched the sunrise.

He couldn’t help that he woke up right at the crack of dawn like clockwork every day – apparently not only did they have to put him in this body, but they also had to make it where he physically can’t sleep in. He had a hard time sleeping anyways. Whenever he fell asleep, he was sent to his mindscape. And that…that wasn’t a place he wanted to be.

He watched the sun rise, thumbing through the last chapter of the most recent book he’d been reading, before he glanced over at Mabel. Today was her birthday, and he, Stan, Ford, and practically the rest of the town put a lot of work into making sure her and Dipper’s nineteenth birthday would be a fantastic one. The thought alone of the happiness on her face when she saw the party had Bill grinning.

He’d put some thought into why that was, and although he was still not exactly sure what he felt…he knew what he wanted. After his revelation talking to Stan, it was all too clear. And he was the best at making grand master plans and big reveals, so he knew he had to do this right.

This was what motivated him out of Mabel’s room and into the accursed living room, where the only other person who would be awake at this hour sat.

“Hey, Blondie!” Stan greeted him with a raise of his coffee mug, grin on his face. “Too excited for the party to sleep?”

Stan being happy to see him always kind of discombobulated him. He knew Stan had a pattern of bringing people into his life who one wouldn’t think he’d ever care about. A little boy who idolized him, a sarcastic redheaded teenager, a set of twins with bright eyes and big questions - and it had come to Bill’s attention that a blonde dream demon had been added to that list. It made him want to smile, but it also made him want to question every power that be, because how did this end up happening, anyways? How – and why – did Stanley Pines give him the light of day?

He was thankful for it as he grabbed himself a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch. “If anything, this party has exhausted me more! We put a lot of work into this thing!”

“Hell yeah we did,” Stan chuckled, clinking his mug against Bill’s. Stan glanced out the windows, looking contentedly at all the oranges and pinks mixing in the sky, “Man, some sunrise this morning, huh?” Bill watched it too, a corner of his mouth lifting into a smile as he nodded. He thought back to all the years he spent as a triangle, never enjoying the little things like this.

“Some people don’t deserve to see something this beautiful,” Bill muttered self-deprecatingly. He glanced at Stan, frowning more. Bill knew he should be gone – he should be paying for what he did. But instead, he had a second chance and friends he didn’t deserve. Friends who trusted him, having no idea he was really their arch enemy…

“You know…” Stan turned to him, eyes a little glassy, “I used to think the same thing about myself.”

“Wh—? You? Really?” Bill’s eyebrows rose, blinking a bit in surprise.

“Oh yeah,” Stan nodded, reclining back a bit in his chair as he took a sip out of his mug. “Back when I was tryin’ to fix the portal to get Ford back…I would see something pretty and I’d hate myself for being able to see it when Ford couldn’t. He was who-knows-where and here I was, stealin’ his sunrise and his world…”

“But now,” Stan continued happily, “I got him back, and now I’m takin’ it all in. You…you should see the sun rise over the Arctic…that’s somethin’ else…” Stan sighed wistfully, clearly thinking about sailing around the world. Bill heard him and Ford talking about the idea of getting back on their boat when college started up again, and he wasn’t sure why that made him a little sad. Stan snapped Bill’s attention back to him when he gave him a smile and a friendly shoulder pat, “You deserve it too, Will.”

Bill felt an odd mix of guilt and warmth, and he grinned at Stan before clinking his mug against his. They both took a sip, and then Stan rose an eyebrow at him, “So, what did you come out here for, anyways?”

“Oh! That. Well,” Bill scratched the back of his head, “I…I need some advice.”

“Really?” Stan leered winningly at him, which caused Bill to roll his eyes.

“Yeah yeah, I must be pretty desperate to have to come to you,” he waved Stan off, but the words didn’t carry any heat, and Stan chuckled at them. Stan waited for him to continue, and Bill let out a sigh as he rubbed his temples anxiously, “It’s…it’s about Mabel.”

“You finally gonna tell her you’re carryin’ feelings for her?” Stan teased, laughing to himself as he usually did when he mocked Bill over Mabel.

Bill scratched the back of his neck, avoiding Stan’s eyes as he took a long sip out of his coffee. As Stan’s eyes widened in realization, Bill muttered sarcastically, “Well…I know you don’t like hearing you’re right, but—”  


Stan spit out the coffee he was drinking, causing Bill to roll his eyes. He huffed impatiently, “I thought you already knew this!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you were ever gonna have the balls to act on it!” Stan exclaimed, tossing his mug backwards. He shoved Bill’s shoulder, “Congrats, kid! You’re finally gonna stop bein’ a pansy!”

“Whoa, I am the opposite of a pansy, there are places where people don’t even dare say my—”

“Hey! I knew you were try’na get with my grandniece!” Stan pointed at him, then smacked him upside the head. “You hurt her and I’ll punch ya into next week!”

The threat sent a chill up Bill’s spine, and he laughed a bit too loudly and nervously, “Ha! T-that’s funny, has anyone ever told you you’re hilarious? You? Punch me? You’d never punch me! What even is punching? I—”

“If you even so much as look at her the wrong way, you’re never coming around her again,” Stan glared at Bill, jabbing him in the chest. “I’ve got half a mind to just tell her now. Or, better yet, tell Ford now. He’s almost more protective than me when it comes to you!” Bill had made a lot of mistakes in his time, but apparently telling Stan this secret was one of them. His face paled, and he began stammering as he waved his hands frantically.

Stan glared hard at him, and then his face broke into a grin, “But I’m proud of ya for mannin’ up! So, you’re gonna tell her?”

“Wh—?! I thought you were going to kill me if I told her!”

“Heh, I’m not gonna kill ya unless you do somethin’ stupid,” Stan shrugged, laughing at the look on Bill’s face. “Plus, between you and me, I like you better than Gideon. Like I’ve told ya before…” Stan’s face softened a bit, “Yer good for her. I know you’d make her happy. That being said, what do you need my help with?”

Bill let out a sigh of relief, and the two talked together until the sun was high in the sky.

* * *

“I feel like we’re walking in circles,” Mabel laughed, blindly being led by Bill to her “birthday surprise.” Usually she’d have been more skeptical of the situation, but with Bill, the only way to handle his insanity was to embrace it. Grass tickled her ankles, and she could hear faint music playing somewhere in the distance as he walked her along. She scratched underneath the blindfold, trying to peek under it, and Bill clasped his hands instantly over her eyes.

“Just be patient, we’re almost there!” Bill chuckled amusedly. Bill jostled Dipper, who was being led by his other hand, “You keepin’ up over there, P—Dipper?”

Mabel sighed at the slip-up but Dipper didn’t seem to catch it, “I still don’t understand where exactly we’re going! Why do we need to be—?”

“You ask too many questions, kid! Just go with it!” Bill laughed, and Mabel couldn’t help chime in agreement, “Yeah, Dip! Just go with it! We’re going on a birthday adventure!”

“I can’t really imagine Will planning anything. Or at least anything good,” Dipper mused, causing Bill to shove his shoulder teasingly again.

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m great at making plans!”

“I don’t know about that. They don’t usually work out the way you want them to,” Mabel sang teasingly. Bill shook her shoulders a little bit so she’d lose her balance, causing him to laugh as she elbowed him in the ribs. He elbowed her back, “Oh ho ho, you wanna make fun of me? I’ll show you fun—”

“Bill,” Mabel warned with a laugh, “What’re you going to—?”

Mabel yelped as she was picked up and carried bridal-style, Bill laughing as he jostled her around in his arms. “You know, I think I do too much for you, Mabel. We’re at the point where now I’m walking for you.”

“You’re such a dork!” Mabel laughed, blindly reaching backwards and patting his stubbly cheek.

“I can’t even see and I know you two are probably doing something stupid,” Dipper chuckled beside her. They laughed together as she felt Bill walking up stairs, and then he kicked something open and took the blindfold off of her and Dipper’s eyes.

“Surprise!”

It dawned on her that Bill brought them back to the room in the Mystery Shack where Stan always threw his parties - and inside was a celebration for her and Dipper! It was like someone launched a party bomb in there – streamers everywhere, tons of people, blaring music and flashing lights. Mabel looked from the intricately-drawn banners (probably drawn by Ford, who she was sure was whom she got her artistic talent from), to the roughly decorated cake (no doubt Stan’s doing)…to the yellow-wrapped presents sitting on the table. Mabel turned to Bill, lights in her eyes and feeling oddly emotional, “You helped throw my party?” 

Bill smirked at her, crossing his arms haughtily, “I can be helpful when I want to be.”

“Bill!” Mabel laughed incredulously, grabbing his face in her hands excitedly, “This is the best present you could’ve gotten me!”

Bill stared at her before he balked, “What?! You think this is your present? No way kid, you’re not getting out of it that easy! I’ve got a way better present than planning a party.”

Mabel blinked at him, temporarily shocked. Yes, Bill was her friend and yes she knew he’d do a lot for her… but Bill Cipher helping plan her party… it made her heart feel like it was going to explode. He just… did this out of the good of his heart, all for her.

A huge smile broke out on her face and then she tackled him into the biggest hug she could muster. Bill laughed, trying to push her away, “Heh, Shooting Star, come on—!”

“This is the best birthday ever!” Mabel yelled excitedly, refusing to let him go even as he laughed and protested all the affection, even as he wrapped his arms around her in return. Her heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute, and she just felt…so happy. Bill made her feel so happy. She snuck a peek at his face, at those handsome sharp features and surprisingly soft eyes, and just looking at him made her want to do a happy dance.

“Are you tryin’ to crush him to death? Pumpkin, you’re not supposed to give me a gift on your birthday!” Stan laughed, opening up his arms. Bill rolled his eyes with a grin and Mabel rushed into Stan’s arms, laughing as he spun her around. “Happy birthday, kid!”

“Thanks, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel laughed, hugging him back tightly. Stan didn’t let her go as he dragged Dipper away from where he was chattering excitedly with Ford, yanking him into the hug too. The three of them laughed together, all happy to be here and together, before Ford joined in and they were all hugging. Mabel didn’t even notice Stan open his arm out to Bill until she saw the utter shock on Bill’s face.

“Come on, kid,” Stan smirked with an eye roll, “We wouldn’t be this happy without ’cha.”

Bill blinked, looking more surprised than Mabel had ever seen him, and then…then she saw a couple tears in his eyes. That was when it hit her – this meant something to Bill. Being here with her and her family, being a part of the house…it meant something to him.

“Argh!” Bill waved his arms, subtly swiping at his eyes, “Fine, you’re twisting my arm here.” He let Stan drag him into the hug, and then everyone was squished together in each other’s arms. Bill’s stubbly cheek was pressed against Mabel’s, and she wrapped her free arm around him, able to feel his smile against her cheek. If she could’ve asked for anything this birthday, it would’ve been this.

The rest of the party passed with wild success – it was one of the most fun nights Mabel had in a long time. She and Dipper opened their presents together, blew out the candles, and spent the whole night having fun with their friends and family. She got Bill to dance with her as many times as possible, which was quite a few being as Bill couldn’t say no to her on her birthday. And Bill looked like he was having so much fun – singing karaoke with her, smashing cake in Dipper’s face, spiking the punch with Stan…he was bonding with her family more than ever and she was stupidly pleased about it.

The party was still going strong as Mabel sidled up to Bill and grabbed his hand, trying to tug him towards everyone on the dance floor.

“I take it you’re going to make me dance with you again?” He smirked at her, already taking her hands in his. Mabel grinned, cheeks pink and butterflies going wild as she laced her fingers with his, “Don’t pretend you don’t love dancing, mister. I saw you listening to one of my Sev’ral Timez CD’s—!”

Bill cut her off, grinning at her as he spun her out onto the dance floor. The two of them laughed together, dancing and joking around, and Mabel’s heart hadn’t felt this light in a long time. And Bill…he looked so happy, grinning and twirling her around. She couldn’t help but look up at him with affectionate eyes, thinking about how far Bill had come. For the span of time he’d been here, living with her, he’d changed in so many ways. He went from being grumpy and mean and just like his old self to dancing and laughing with her and her family. 

“Do I have something on my face, kid?” Bill grinned lopsidedly at her, catching her staring at him. Mabel blinked, smiling warmly at him, and she wasn’t sure what she was even doing as she leaned in a little closer. Bill’s eyes went wide and a piece of blonde hair fell over his eye, and time seemed to stop for a second—

The door to the shack opened, snapping them out of…whatever that was. Mabel stepped away, laughing, feeling unsure and like she was in a vivid daydream all at once. That…that was weird. She didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because she realized it was Gideon who had opened the door. She…she hadn’t even noticed he hadn’t shown up.

“Ugh, this guy,” Bill muttered, his face still pleasantly close to hers as he almost held her protectively. “Didn’t think he was gonna show up.”

“Me neither,” Mabel muttered, causing Bill to look at her in mild concern. Mabel knew Bill joked about Gideon never being around…but he wasn’t actually wrong. Gideon wasn’t there for her. She’d been thinking about telling him this for a long time. She just…she wasn’t good with breakups. And it had been proven that breaking up with Gideon was harder than breaking up with most people. But with Gideon, she had been considering that maybe…maybe not everyone could change their ways. Mabel looked up at Bill, who offered her one of his usual smirky smiles. But some people – the people who have something really worth changing for, can.

“Mabel! Happy birthday, sweetheart!” Gideon sauntered over to her and Bill, taking her by the hand and tugging her away from him. He swept her into a big hug, which she returned apprehensively. Her eyes met Bill’s, who had crossed his arms and was tapping his foot impatiently. Gideon let her go, holding her at arms level, as he gestured to the door, “Can we talk outside?”

Mabel’s eyes were still on Bill, who looked like he wanted to violently protest this. He had been around Gideon a few times since he met him, and each occasion he nearly refused to let them be alone together. Mabel presumed this was why Gideon wanted to talk to her outside, away from him. She let out a sigh, her eyes leaving Bill as she smiled at Gideon and let him walk her out the door. When they reached the outdoors, the bond wasn’t bothering her from being far away from him, so she assumed that Bill was close by.

“So, I wanted to talk to you about somethin’,” Gideon began when their feet hit the creaky old porch.

“Sure!” Mabel agreed, looking down awkwardly at their intertwined hands. She didn’t know when things got so…awkward between her and Gideon. Maybe it was because she was seeing him more than once a month at the most. Maybe she hadn’t realized how they don’t work together…how she’d work better with someone else, someone like–

“—Mabel? Are ya listenin’ to me?” Gideon’s voice ended her train of thought, and she hadn’t realized she had tuned him out.

“Oh! Uh, yeah, sure,” Mabel waved him off with a laugh.

“So, you’ll move in with me? Great!”

Mabel jolted in surprise when Gideon went to hug her. She took a step back, “Wait, what?”

“Thought you said you were listenin’?” Gideon chuckled, poking her on the nose. She twitched her nose, looking horribly confused, as Gideon reiterated, “I asked ya if ya wanted t’ move in with me! Now that it’s the end of the summer, and I may have heard through the grapevine that Dipper’s goin’ off to college on the east coast, I thought it’d be nice if you came and lived with me!”

Mabel balked, hoping he was joking, “Gideon, I don’t think that’d be a good idea…”

“Why not?”

“I can’t leave Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford at the shack,” Mabel shook her head. She glared at Gideon a bit, “You haven’t really shown any concern, but Stan was just sick again, and I couldn’t leave him.”

“Why, I heard him and Stanford talkin’ about gettin’ back on their boat soon last time I was here!” Gideon said genially, looking as if he had already won over her answer. The more he continued, the more Mabel didn’t want to have any part of it.

“Well, you work all the time, Gideon. I wouldn’t just want to sit in your house alone while you’re—”

“Mabel,” Gideon huffed, smile falling as he crossed his arms. “Is there a different reason you don’t want t’ live with me?”

Mabel looked at him pleadingly, “I can’t be with someone who won’t spend time with me! It’s not your fault, it just—”

“This ain’t about me, is it? Don’t try and blame your issues on me,” Gideon hissed, pointing a finger at her. Mabel crossed her arms, glaring at him, “What do you mean, Gideon?”

“I mean I didn’t miss how you were lookin’ at that blonde guy!” Gideon finally thundered, arms waving around. “I see how you look at him every time I’m around you two! Which is every time I’m over, because he can’t stand t’ leave me alone with ya!”

“Th—? William?” Mabel quickly forced the blush away from her cheeks, rubbing at her face, “Why in the world would you—?”

“Save me the denial, Mabel. I know you ain’t just keepin’ him around because you like how annoyin’ he is,” Gideon rolled his eyes, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Mabel rubbed her temples, huffing, “Look, Gideon, I—”

“What? Say it! Say you’ve got no feelin’s for him,” Gideon hissed, getting up into Mabel’s face to the point where she had to take a step back. “If ya say it, then I’ll quit my job, I’ll spend all the time with ya in the world that ya want.”

This was where she should say it. Mabel opened her mouth, the words on her tongue, but as she looked at Gideon’s face, she realized…she didn’t want to be with him. She wanted to be with someone else. She wanted to be with…

“You can’t say it,” Gideon whispered, then threw his hands over his face and laughed long and hard. “Damn it all, you just can’t say it!”

“I-I’m sorry,” Mabel reached out for him, feeling the guilt wash over her. “You’re right, Gideon, it’s all my fault, you may not have been there as much as you should’ve, but—”

“Do you think,” Gideon snatched the wrist that Mabel was reaching out to him, “That after all these years, you’re going t’ brush me off this easy? That I’m going t’ stand aside and let him have you?”

Mabel stared into his face, blinking like a deer in headlights, “I-I—”

Gideon’s grip tightened, “Ain’t nobody comin’ between us again. Even if I have to make a deal with Bill Cipher himself, you are not leavin’ me.”

“Y’know, Gideon, I don’t think Bill would ever make the same mistake twice. Especially on you.”

Mabel and Gideon both wheeled around to see Bill, raising an eyebrow with his arms crossed. Gideon glared fiercely at Bill for a second, and then it was an angry smile, “Why, you’re just the person I wanted t’ see! William, was it?”

“My face is the last one you’re going to see, if you don’t let go of Mabel,” Bill offered the same smile back to him. Mabel looked between the two of them worriedly– how did she get caught up into the middle of this again? But she didn’t have much time to think about it, because Gideon kept talking, not letting her go.

“I think it’s so funny you’re tryna come here and act like I’m try’na steal your girl,” Gideon chuckled at Bill, shaking his head, “You’ve been livin’ with her for however long, spendin’ all your time with her, and she stayed with me for this long? Clearly she doesn’t want you the way you so obviously want her.”

“She stayed with you?” Bill snorted, “Over the span of the entire time I was living there, I saw you maybe twice.”  


“Well she ain’t gonna be seein’ any more of ya,” Gideon hissed, jabbing Bill in the chest. Bill growled, stepping closer to Gideon, as he let out a threatening laugh, “Man, is it my birthday? Finally getting rid of you is going to be the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

“You guys,” Mabel shook her head, trying to come closer and stop the fight, but Gideon’s hand on her wrist squeezed tighter. She yelped, causing Bill’s eye to twitch as his hands balled into fists.

“I’d suggest,” He snarled, “You let her go. I’d hate to stain that new sweater of hers.”   
Gideon laughed at him, waving Mabel’s wrist in front of him, “Or what? You’re gonna hit me, beanpole?”

“Gideon,” Mabel warned, looking at the dangerous look in Bill’s eye, “You’d better not—”

Gideon looked at Mabel threateningly, moving his arm, and before anything else could happen, Bill’s entire body lit up in blue flames, eyes glowing white. He grabbed Gideon by the collar, holding him up in the air as he raised a fiery hand.

“You can throw all the punches at me you want, buddy,” Bill said, voice sounding distorted with rage, “But you /never/ can lay a hand on her.”

Bill punched Gideon hard in the face, and Gideon went stumbling back. He was staring at Bill in shock and fear as he fell right off the deck, hitting the ground hard as he backed away from Bill in fear. The fire was now in Bill’s hands, flaming but not burning as he stepped closer to Gideon. Gideon’s eyes were on Bill’s hands as he sputtered, “Y-You—?! That fire?! You’re—?!”

“Come back here and I’ll really show you who I am,” Bill hissed, hands still flaming as Mabel grabbed him and tried shoving him back into the shack. Gideon knew. Oh lord, Gideon knew—

“Bill, come on,” Mabel urged, finally able to shove him inside and take him away from the party, managing to get him inside the empty gift shop. He was breathing heavily, fists still flaming and feet still burning holes into the floor. Mabel touched his shoulders gently, trying to get him to look at her, “Come on, Bill, it’s okay, just calm down—”

Bill looked at her, and then the guilt flashed over his face as he shook his head and stormed out of the gift shop. She watched him storm towards the woods, and she let out a sigh as she chased after him.

Mabel finally managed to catch up to Bill in the middle of the woods, after nearly ten minutes of getting lost. It was actually the exact same spot she was when she first summoned him. She looked at the soft indent where the statue used to be, nearly flashing back to when she knelt down in the grass and shakily read Bill’s summoning incantation all those months ago.

Here she stood now, watching Bill stand near a table in the middle of the grass, staring down at it with upset eyes. She craned her head, unable to see what was on the table, but able to see Bill holding a candle and trying to light it.

“Damn Gideon…he isn’t going to ruin this,” he was muttering to himself, feet still causing the grass to smoke underneath him. He touched the tip of the candle, trying to light it, and instead he jolted as the entire candle, table, and ground around him lit up on fire. He swore under his breath, watching as the trees quickly caught on fire, and he dragged a flaming chair away from the table, stabilized the blue fire, and slumped down in it.

Mabel shook her head with a small smile as she came up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder, “You know setting the woods on fire isn’t a birthday ritual, right?”

Bill turned around to look at her, still looking upset as he let out a sigh and crossed his arms. She waited patiently for him to speak, but instead, he flicked his wrist, all the fire around them turning a cool blue, still flaming yet not burning anything as it stabilized. He stood up, dragged a chair away, and gestured to it as he sat back in his own. Mabel took her seat next to him, the two of them sitting together and watching the fire that didn’t burn.

“Should I ask about the table?” Mabel nudged his arm, gesturing to the half-melted table in front of them.

“I…” Bill scratched his chin, looking put out, “I wanted to do something for you for your birthday. Seems like I can’t really do anything that doesn’t end in destruction.”

Mabel watched his face, the fire reflecting off of his eyes, and she realized that Bill really must think that. She sighed at the sky wistfully, voice soft, “Every time something is destroyed, it creates opportunity for a new beginning.”

Bill looked to her in mild surprise, her words clearly resonating with him. She took his hand in hers and gave it a pat, “You destroyed the town, destroyed yourself – but it turned out better that way. You got rid of jerky Bill Cipher and made yourself a good person. Now you’re here with me, and what could be better than that?”

Bill smiled ruefully, shaking his head as he held her hand back, “When did you become so wise, kid?”

“I am another year older. You know what they say.”

He snorted, “That phrase couldn’t be more false. I still don’t have a clue how this world works.”

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Mabel squeezed his hand, earning another smirky smile from Bill. She could see Bill looking at the wrist Gideon had grabbed, and she could tell he wants to ask about it. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Bill glanced over at her again.

“Are you alright?” Bill finally broke, gently yet swiftly grabbing her wrist and turning it over in his hands.

“I’m fine, Bill,” Mabel assured him with a smile, patting his hand over hers. “I was going to end it with him, anyways, you know.”

“Of course I knew,” Bill flashed a smirk. “You deserve much better than Gideon.”

“I don’t know…Gideon’s not exactly a bad guy, he’s just—what’re you looking at?” Mabel looked down at a small bruise on her wrist that Bill’s fingers skimmed over. He looked at it in horror, letting out an angry huff as he quickly put his hand over her wrist. It took her a second to realize he was healing her, and she jolted in surprise before taking her wrist away. “Hey, don’t use up all your energy on me, Bill. I’m really okay, I promise.”

“It’s not okay,” Bill gripped the edge of his chair angrily. His gaze was trained down at his feet before looking up at the sky in exasperation. “Do you understand how frustrating this is for me? For Gideon to treat you this way when he’s the one lucky enough to…” Bill’s cheeks went a little pink as he trailed off, twitching his nose indignantly.

“When he’s the one to what?” Mabel asked, turning Bill’s hand over in hers so their fingers were linked. She hated to see him so upset, but she couldn’t really understand what exactly had Bill this mad. He didn’t say anything for a couple beats, just looking up at the stars before his expressive eyes met hers.

“Gideon is—well, was—your boyfriend,” he said. “He…he got to be the one who was supposed to care about you and be there for you. And he wasn’t. I mean, what kind of complete idiot would waste a chance like that? How could he not have realized that he’s the luckiest guy in the world!? I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes in all my years, but I’d never have made the mistake of taking that for granted. If that were me, I’d—”

“Hey Bill?”

“Shooting Star, I’m still ranting. I—”  
Bill didn’t get to say another word, because Mabel turned his face and kissed him. She pulled back a couple inches, watching his eyes flutter open and stare at her in complete shock. She pressed her forehead against his, “Remember when you told me that one time I was falling for you? You weren’t too far off there.”

Bill stared at her, blinking wildly, before his entire face lit up. He grinned at her, throwing his hands up in the air, “I finally did something right!” And then he cupped her face and laughed as he kissed her again.


	12. Painful Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes some angst!! I had a lot of fun writing this one and I hope you all like it >:)  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

Gideon Gleeful sat in the center of the clearing, staring at the soft indent of where the Bill Cipher statue used to be. Of course. Of course it wasn’t there anymore, because Bill was anything but a statue. He was alive and well in a human body somehow – and somehow, he had managed to win over the affections of Gideon’s girlfriend.

Gideon couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it sooner. That blonde fool practically screamed Bill Cipher. Except this was a weird, twisted version of the triangle who had taken over the town. This was a version that was obsessed with Gideon’s Mabel. And what in the world caused Mabel to want to be around him – to have feelings for something that clearly couldn’t feel? Bill was a monster. A monster who had stolen the girl he had worked so hard to finally get – and Gideon refused to let that stand.

He pulled an old paper out of his pocket, grinning to himself slightly. When he had been on the same team as Bill once, during Weirdmageddon, he had been given a list of incantations, in case he found any of the Pines and needed some backup. He skipped over Bill’s name on the list, his interest on the other ones instead.

“I’ve spent way too long pinin’ after Mabel for her to get stolen away from me by a nacho chip! This’ll be for her own good…” Gideon lit the last candle, clearing his throat as he quickly recited all the incantations. He waited and watched as the world around him went gray. The only difference between this time and last time was the gray world around him was more distorted…everything looking like it was glitching, the air looking like it was practically getting torn apart like fabric in some places. Then the horrible laughter echoed through his ears, the figures in front of him appearing.

Perfect.

Gideon grinned at the cackling beings in front of him, already holding out his hand as he said darkly, “I need y’all to help me get rid of a certain someone I think we both want gone.”

* * *

 

“Bill, hold still!”

“Shooting Star, I really don’t see the point of—”

“Don’t interrupt an artist in the midst of a masterpiece!”

Bill huffed, rolling his eyes affectionately as Mabel shifted and turned his face as she did his makeup. Her face was so close to his that Bill could smell the confetti cupcakes she had taught him to make (forced him to make with her) earlier, and he could see the messy braid in her hair that he had done earlier. He couldn’t really figure out if he had actually braided right, but according to Mabel, he was great at it (she probably told him this so he’d be willing to do it again. Smart girl). Bill didn’t even want to touch his hair and see what she did to it – he could feel tiny clips and hair bands all throughout it. Why did he agree to this again? He glanced at Mabel’s face and he instantly reminded himself that he’d do anything for Mabel. Even sit through an impromptu makeover, apparently.

Bill was kind of wary of letting himself be this happy. When did these things ever work out for him? Over the past trillions of years, he’d never really just…been happy. Not like he was right now, at least. Him and Mabel admitted their feelings through a kiss that was highly enjoyable (and Bill’s first one that didn’t involve an eye-mouth). And now…he was happy with her. No more of that insufferable feelings angst – although what he felt now could be just as irritating. His heart felt gooey and warm and – ack. Emotions.

“Okay! I’m done!” Mabel beamed, poking his nose before she was pulling back and shoving a mirror in front of his face. Bill blinked, looking at his face, and well…

“Hey! I look hot! And they told me getting put into a human body would be a learning experience! Now I’ve learned I’m even more fantastic then before!” Bill grinned at himself, batting his eyelashes and wiggling his eyebrows into the mirror. Mabel’s face absolutely exploded with light, and he knew he’d done his job right as she grinned and took a picture for her scrapbook with him.

“I told you makeovers weren’t a waste of time!” Mabel laughed happily, patting his stubbly cheek before reaching over and waggling a tube of lipstick in front of his face. “Now I’ve gotta do the finishing touches!”

“I don’t think so,” Bill smirked, swatting the tube away as she tried to bring it closer, “Eye makeup is one thing, but—”

Mabel put some on and then pressed her lips against his, and this was the part of the makeover that Bill could appreciate. He kissed her back happily, but then in the next seconds he was being yanked to his feet, her hand in his as she led him into the kitchen.

“Guys, look! I gave William a makeover,” Mabel grinned, shoving him in front of where Stan and Dipper sat at the kitchen table. Stan blinked before bursting into laughter, and Dipper shook his head, “At least Candy and Grenda weren’t here. They…they get even more makeover crazy.”

 “I can imagine,” Bill said dryly, knowing all too well how loud and…loud those two could be. Mabel chuckled and nudged Bill’s shoulder, and Bill nudged her back with a grin. Bill glanced at Stan and Dipper a bit nervously. They’d…they couldn’t tell that he and Mabel were—

“Wait a second,” Stan held up a finger, staring at them as the four walked into the living room. Mabel and Bill sat on the couch together, and Bill pulled at his collar nervously as Stan gave him the death glare. The man assessed them both before he set down his Pitt cola and grinned, “Congrats on finally endin’ all the angsty romance crap! Toldja she liked you too, you knucklehead.”

“Wh—? Me and Mabel? Together? That’s insane—!”

“William, they can know!” Mabel chuckled, “It’s not like everybody couldn’t already tell before this.”

“Yeah, you guys were pretty obvious to everyone but each other. William especially,” Dipper said as he sat in Stan’s chair, causing Bill to cross his arms with an eye roll and Stan to laugh. “We had an ongoing bet and I think Grenda won. She had you two pegged for the end of the summer, I was thinking Halloween.”

“There was a bet?!” Mabel exclaimed, “How did I not know about this?!”

Bill grinned, “Yeah! I wish I woulda known, I was saying before everyone else that me and Mabel were gonna end up together—”

“I called it before you did, Blondie,” Stan leered at Bill, taking a sip of his Pitt cola, “And there are gonna be rules to this! No being within five feet of each other at all times!”

“Grunkle Stan, me and William always have been practically attached to each other, I’d—”

“Hey, that’s less than five feet! Move apart!” Stan yanked Bill away, causing Mabel to sprawl onto the ground. She laughed as she complained, and Stan grinned at her as he ruffled her hair and sat down on the couch. Stan nudged Bill and handed him a Pitt Cola, which he gladly took as he sat down on the floor next to Mabel. And Bill…he felt so stupidly happy. The Pines liked him, and he and Mabel were together. Speaking of the Pines, Mabel piped up, “Where’s Grunkle Ford?”

“It was his turn to go shoppin’ today,” Stan scratched his chin, glancing out the window, “Should be back any minute now. Oh, and just so you kids now, I wouldn’t mention this to him.”

Bill noticeably straightened, and Mabel frowned as she asked, “Why not?” 

“Well for whatever reason, he hates Will…but you gotta understand, Sixer’s been through…a lot. Ya can’t take it personally,” Stan shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. Bill tapped his hands against his knees, feeling uneasy as he looked anywhere but Mabel’s face. She didn’t even know that Stanford knew who he really was. Bill glanced at Stan, who trusted him unconditionally. Stan didn’t know who he was, either. And a while back, this information wouldn’t have bothered him. But now…

“Eh, he’ll get over it,” Bill waved it off, but he could hear the slight edge in his voice. He…he could keep doing this. Stan never had to know who he was, and neither did Dipper. He felt his heart constrict a little…Mabel knew who he was, but…was she really able to forgive all he did? He didn’t deserve her, he knew that. Even if she did forgive him, could he live with it? Would he ever be convinced?

Bill shook the feelings away, holding Mabel tighter as he looked ahead at the TV.

* * *

Mabel woke Bill up by shaking his arm eagerly, bright eyes staring at him as he opened his eyes, “Wake up, Bill! We’re going out to get some food with Grunkle Stan and Dipper.”

He groaned noncommittally, rolling over to be face-down in his pillow. Mabel waited patiently before Bill forced himself off the couch and to his feet. She knew that when push came to shove, Bill would do whatever he could to make her happy. She mentally reminded herself to get him some ice cream when they get to Greasy’s (he’d never admit it, but it for sure was his favorite food). 

“You can take a nap when we get home,” Mabel said cheerily, patting his cheek as she took his hand and began leading him through the Shack. Bill rubbed at his eyes tiredly, humming noncommittally as he let her lead him around.

“Why…do humans need so much sleep…” he grumbled, yawning into his hand. Mabel yawned in unison, chuckling as she nudged him, “Stop being so tired, the bond is making me tired.”

“Stop being so cheerful, it’s ruining my grumpiness,” Bill rolled his eyes fondly, and Mabel laughed before she pat his stubbly cheek and quickly planted a kiss on his lips. Bill melted a little, smiling, and the kiss only lasted a second. Bill leaned away from her, a goofy smile on his face. One that instantly dropped when they looked over to see Stanford staring at them.

“Oh come on—” Bill was instantly slammed against a wall, one arm curled behind his back and a ray gun pointed at his face. Mabel gasped in shock, rushing over but too confused to do anything. She knew Ford wasn’t exactly trusting, but she hadn’t seen him act like this to anyone in a long time!

“Geez, Ford, buy me a drink first—”

“You have some explaining to do,” Ford hissed darkly, turning Bill around and slamming his back against the wall. He looked very, very, uncharacteristically enraged, and Mabel could see Bill look at her guiltily out of the corner of her eye. She got a sinking feeling in her stomach by the look on Bill’s face… 

“I-I don’t know what you want me to say, Sixer,” Bill held his hands up, glancing at Mabel worriedly.

“I want you to say that I didn’t just see you kissing my grandniece,” Ford hissed, grip tightening on his shirt. “I want you to assure me that you are in no way involved with Mabel any more than you’re forcing her to be!”

“Grunkle Ford, what are you talking about?” Mabel begged, tugging weakly on his trench coat. Ford growled as he released Bill, swiftly turning to Mabel and looking at her pleadingly.

“Mabel, tell me it’s not true,” he begged, clearly panicking. His face shifted back to anger at Bill as he quickly pulled out a flashlight and inspected her eyes, “Did he do something to you? A spell? Is it the bond that—?”

“No, genius!” Bill waved his hands, thumping Ford on the back of the head. “It’s—”

“Don’t you dare say it’s how you both feel,” Ford hissed, hands clenched into fists as he turned to Bill. “You are incapable of emotion! How about ruining my life, Bill? How about Weirdmageddon? How about—?!”

“Great Uncle Ford, please,” Mabel waved her hands, noticing how visibly upset Bill now looked. Ford…how did he know? She tried to make eye contact with Bill, but he wouldn’t look at her. Ford, however, looked like he was about to have a full-blown panic attack, something she’d only seen when Stan lost his memories and got sick.

“You’re smarter than this, Mabel,” Ford said imploringly, shaking his head, “Tell me you’re not—”

“You don’t understand,” Mabel stepped away from him, feeling guilty and attacked, “H-he’s changed, he’s not the same person he used to be…”

Ford laughed loudly, gripping at his hair before gesturing to Bill wildly, “Mabel, he hasn’t changed! He can’t change! He’s Bill Cipher!”

“—What?”

Mabel felt the ice slide into her veins, her entire world crashing down upon her as she heard Dipper’s hesitant voice come from the doorway. He was standing there with Stan, both of them ready to go to eat and looking very confused. Mabel began shaking her head, backing up as she looked at Ford. Ford looked just as shocked, frozen where he stood before he cleared his throat and coughed into his hand.

“Did you just say…Bill Cipher?” Dipper looked from left to right, then scratched his head. “What…what are you talking about, Great Uncle Ford? Bill is dead.”

“What were you sayin’ about Blondie? He ain’t Bill, Stanford,” Stan crossed his arms, managing a strained laugh. “Your paranoia is kickin’ in again, bro.”

Mabel, Bill, and Ford all stood there in silence. Nobody knew what to say…and suddenly, it was like they could see the wheels turning in Stan and Dipper’s heads. “You…your name is William,” Dipper said dumbly, taking a step back from Bill. “You wear all yellow and your name is William…”

“What? Dipper, don’t be crazy,” Stan shook his head, managing another laugh. “Will, he’s not Bill. That doesn’t make any…” But of course, it did make sense. Mabel looked over at Bill, and he suddenly looked more anxious than she’d ever seen him. He was taking a deep breath, rubbing his temples, and Mabel could feel the anxiety twice as strong through the bond.

“Will, tell ‘em they’re being crazy,” Stan urged, a friendly hand on Bill’s shoulder. “We heard you talkin’ about Cipher…if there’s some sort of problem with him, we’ll be able to handle it. Just tell ‘em you’re not Bill and we can figure it out.”

Bill looked from Stan’s hand on his shoulder to Stan’s easy smile, and he let out a breath before he shook his head, “I’m sorry, Stan…I can’t say that.”

“What?” Stan breathed, slowly taking his hand off Bill’s shoulder. “What’re you talking about?”

“I’m Bill Cipher,” Bill said through his teeth, as if the sentence pained him. He looked at Ford, fire flashing in his eyes at the man who made him reveal this, and Ford let out a breath as he turned away from him. Mabel, on the other hand, was waiting for the news to connect to Stan. She was just waiting for it to hit him, that the kid he’d roped into their family was actually the one who nearly killed all of them, who wiped his memories and invaded his mind.

“No. You’re not. That’s crazy!” Stan hit at Bill’s arm, trying to gauge a reaction. He paused, then grabbed Bill roughly by the shoulder **,** “Are you possessed by him? I swear, Cipher, if you—”

“I’m not possessed by him, I _am_ him,” Bill argued hotly. He grinded his teeth, staring anywhere but the shocked family, “I’ve been Bill since the beginning, alright? We just figured it would be easier not to tell you, because there’s nothing you can do about me staying here.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Stan took a step back, eyes wide and confused. He looked to Mabel, and the minute his hurt eyes met hers she wanted to curl up and die. She looked away, and Stan looked horribly confused, “Mabel, he’s not—? He’s not _Bill_ , is he?”

Mabel squeezed her eyes shut, taking in a big breath of air before she looked at Stan sadly. She tried to say softly, “It’s him, Grunkle Stan. William is Bill…”

Stan’s face went ghostly white as he nearly fumbled over, then he gripped at his own hair as he exclaimed, “You mean to tell me—?! I’ve been living with Cipher this whole time!? I’ve—?!” He turned to Bill, looking beyond betrayed, and Mabel could see Bill recoil like Stan had just punched him in the gut.

Bill didn’t like to admit it…but he and Stan were close. Sure, in the beginning, Bill had been afraid of Stan to the point of a panic attack, but it had all changed. Mabel couldn’t count how many times she’d wake up and see Stan and Bill talking at sunrise, or when she’d see the two of them laughing and talking together over a couple cans of Pitt cola. Stan was like Bill’s family – and now, it was like a knife had just stabbed through their relationship.

“Did he put a spell on you so you’d trust him? Is that why you let him stay here a-and spent so much time with him? O-Oh lord, how did I not notice?!” Dipper rushed over to Mabel and tugged her away from Bill, checking her head as if he’d be able to see a spell.

“P—Dipper, I didn’t do anything!” Bill defended, waving his arms. Dipper shoved Mabel behind him, expression grim, “What did you almost call me? You do that a lot…you start to call me something a-and then you change it—! Have you been almost calling me ‘Pine Tree’ this whole time!?”

“You try calling someone something else than what you’ve known them as for the past trillions of years! You were ‘Pine Tree’ in the prophecy, and it’s hard to get used to!” Bill crossed his arms, turning his chin up to Dipper. Dipper growled, standing taller in front of Mabel, and she slapped a hand to her face. 

“Bill!!” She hissed, “You’re not making this better!”

“What else am I supposed to say!?” Bill hissed, shoving past Dipper and grabbing Mabel’s hand, “You don’t have to protect Mabel from me like I’m going to hurt her, Dipper—”

“As if you wouldn’t?” Ford snarled, shoving Bill away, “Do you not remember the Fearamid? The prison bubble? The—”

“Clearly Mabel trusts me enough that she’s gotten past it! She’s let it go and she has feelings for me, so that must mean that—!”

Mabel had almost forgotten that Stan was there for a second. But Bill’s words registered to her the moment they registered to Stan. She watched as it dawned on him – as it dawned on him that she was dating Bill, and the hurt betrayal was put on the backburner as Stan’s eyes burst into flames and he lunged at Bill.

“You son of a bitch!” He yelled, shaking Bill by the shoulders, “You made me help you date Mabel! I-I let you stay here, I let you spend all your time with her—!” Stan instantly punched Bill in the face, Bill hissing out a pained curse and stumbling backwards. Mabel yelped, rushing over to him and grabbing his shoulders so he wouldn’t fall. She could feel how scared he was through their bond, but Bill refused to show it, looking up at Stan through fiery, guilty eyes as Mabel helped him to his feet.

 “What did he do to you?” Stan demanded, shoving Bill away as he grabbed Mabel and kept her near him. “Pumpkin, we can fix it, just tell me what he’s using against you or I’ll punch it outta him. _Again_.”

Now Mabel was at a loss for words. She couldn’t tell Stan. Not when he was this upset. She felt Ford’s hand on her shoulder briefly – an assuring gesture that helped her more than he’d ever know. Mabel could see Stan looking more and more panicked as the minutes passed, the wheels in his head sparking the revelation he’d been missing this whole time. Ford stepped forward, approaching his brother carefully, “I-It’s complicated, Stanley…You see, Bill is using her—”

“You don’t know anything about it, Stanford!” Bill hissed fiercely, hands crackling blue fire as Mabel reached out for him to try and keep him calm. Stan refused to let her be near him, his own fists practically sparking as he took a threatening step towards Bill.

“—Because she made a deal with him.”

“What deal?” Dipper breathed, eyes wide and face pale in shock. Ford looked to Stan, then looked away, scratching at his neck uncomfortably.

“Sixer,” Stan said darkly, no room for argument. “What deal?”

“Grunkle Stan…” Mabel sniffled, eyes glossing over with tears, “You…you weren’t getting better. I…I had to—”

“No,” Stan whispered, eyes snapping to Mabel’s as he stood there frozen. He shook his head as he looked at Mabel, hand over his mouth, “Mabel…don’t tell me…don’t tell me you did this f-for me…”

“I couldn’t let you die,” Mabel said fiercely, because the fact that Stan didn’t think he was worth it made her so painfully upset. “He offered me a deal and I summoned him back and made it with him. He didn’t make me do anything.”

“Oh lord,” Stan choked out, hand over his mouth and face striken with pain. He was looking at Mabel as if she just told him she was dying. He grabbed onto Ford as if he was going to collapse, and Ford let him, an arm around him to help keep him standing. “What does he get in return? Mabel, what does he—?”

“He…he heals you, I bond myself to him.”

“B-bond—?”

“We have to stay near each other forever – our souls are intertwined,” Mabel said quietly. Stan reeled back like she had struck him, but Ford kept him righted.

“You son of a bitch,” Stan whispered to Bill, head in his hands, and when he picked his head up he’d never looked this angry before. Mabel was suddenly worried he was going to tear Bill apart, and Ford must’ve seen his expression too, because the moment he charged at Bill Ford held him back, “Stanley, just wait—!”

“You selfish bastard!” Stan yelled, big arms reaching out for a pain-stricken Bill as he tried to struggle away from Ford, “I-I can’t believe that I let you stay here, that I helped you date—!! As long as you have to stay here, I’m going to make your life a living hell! And you won’t be here for long, because I’m gonna kick your ass out of this dimension—!!”

“Stanley, Stanley, your heart,” Ford reminded him warningly, trying to calm him down. “Look, it’s going to be okay, but if we expel him, Mabel has to go with him.”

“Leave it to Bill Cipher to use the nicest girl in the world for his own shitty plans,” Stan spat, eyes flaming. He looked at Mabel, the fire dropping away some as he sniffed, “Mabel, sweetie…you shoulda’ known I would never want you to pick me over yourself…”

“But I’d always pick you over me, Grunkle Stan,” Mabel said quietly, wiping at her teary eyes. Stan’s face looked like she had just physically hit him. She decided to continue on, “And Bill isn’t the same person he used to be. You guys know him, you know that he’s different, and he cares about me…”

“You see what he’s doin’, right, Mabel?” Stan said hysterically. “He designed your dream world, he knows how your mind works. Do you think it’s a coincidence he’s in a body that looks like those boy band yahoos you like?”

“Hey, I look nothing like—!”

“He’s only doin’ this to manipulate you,” Stan argued, “He’s Bill Cipher, he can’t change. He can’t care about you, he’s just appealing to you—”

 “Alright, Stanley, that’s where you’re wrong,” Bill hissed, storming over to where they are. Ford grabbed onto Stan tight as Stan growled, fists clenching as he leaned closer to Bill, and Mabel grabbed Stan’s hand to hold him back as well. “I didn’t want to be in this body. I didn’t want to be bonded to Mabel. And I sure as hell didn’t want to become t-this emotional husk of who I used to be, but I was stuck with all of this! And I don’t know a lot about myself, but I do know that I care about her!”

“You don’t know shit,” Stan snarled, trying to move towards Bill, “But let me make this real simple for ya. You’re outta here the moment I break this bond.”

“Have fun trying,” Bill sneered, rolling his eyes. “Just like all the other deals I’ve made with your family, this one’s gonna stick until I’m ready for it not to.”

“We’ll get him out of here, Stanley,” Ford promised, holding Stan back as he growled threateningly. “I-I would’ve done something about him, but we have to figure out a way to get him out of here without disrupting the bond. But we’ll figure it out together, I—”

“Wait…you knew.” Stan tugged himself away from Ford. “How long did you know, Stanford?!”

“I—?” Ford paled, halting whatever he was saying. He blinked, staring at Stan like a deer in headlights.

“How long did you know?!” Stan yelled louder this time, causing Bill to jump. If Bill had gotten over his fear of Stan…Mabel somehow had the feeling that it was now back stronger than ever…

Ford flinched, “I-I don’t know…Stanley, that doesn’t matter…you know more than anyone how much I hate Bill. But there’s nothing I could’ve done about this, if I expel him from this dimension the deal is void, and you’d be sick again. Y-you have to understand—”

“I thought we were past this.”

“What?” Ford gaped, looking at Stan in surprise.

“Not trusting me,” Stan growled, looking away from Ford as tears pricked the edges of his eyes. “You didn’t even tell me. I thought we agreed on no more secrets—”

“Stanley, I had to!” Ford argued, “I know if I told you you would’ve went and—!”

“And you,” Stan growled hotly, hurt eyes on Bill. “I trusted you.”

Bill blinked, swallowing thickly as he looked away, “That was a mistake.”

“It’s one I won’t make again,” Stan growled darkly. He jabbed Bill in the chest, much like he had the first time he met him in is human form, “Here’s somethin’ you can trust me on. You’re not gettin’ off easy for this one.”

Stan’s shoulder hit Bill as he slammed past him, through the kitchen and out the door. Bill, Mabel, Ford, and Dipper stood in the kitchen, feeling as if a bomb had just went off and destroyed everything.

“This conversation isn’t over,” Ford hissed at Bill, but he looked incredibly anxious as he quickly followed Stan out the door. Dipper shook his head, “Mabel…we could’ve figured out something together…how could you have turned to making a deal with—””

“You weren’t even here, Dipper. You were avoiding being here while Stan was sick and we both know it. Maybe if you would’ve been there for me, I wouldn’t have had to do this,” Mabel snapped, and the minute she did, she was surprised. She’d never really brought up Dipper’s absence while Stan was sick. She knew he was busy and everything, and she didn’t want him to feel bad. But the fact of the matter was…he wasn’t there. She knew Dipper’s schedule, and she knew there were big gaps where he could’ve been there. She understood it was hard to see Stan in such bad conditions, but to leave it all to her…

“Mabel…” Dipper said guiltily, and Mabel hated the expression on his face. “I could’ve…we…” He deflated, wringing his hoodie, “I should go check on Grunkle Stan.” Mabel held out her hand to stop him, a wave of guilt crashing over her, but he was already out the front door.

Mabel turned to Bill, and she paled at the sight in front of her. Bill’s eyes were filled up with tears. She had only seen him cry once, when she had her nightmare, and the sight broke her heart. He looked at her, lip wobbling, as he touched near his eyes, as if he was unsure why he was crying. He crossed his arms, teeth clenched, “I told you I shouldn’t have gotten close with Stan.”

Mabel stared at him, blinking as she hugged herself, “I’m sorry, Bill. I-I didn’t mean for any of this to—”

He turned to her, teary eyes fiery, “Don’t be sorry! It’s not your fault! I-I’m not mad at you…”

 “W-What are you feeling, then?” She touched his arm, and wasn’t surprised when he jerked away from her. His hands rose over his face, then ran through his hair as he growled out in tearful frustration, “I-I don’t know!” He shook his head, and then he grabbed her by the shoulders, blinking away tears, “Why…why do you trust me, Shooting Star? Why do you want to be with me? Stan is right…all I’ve ever done is hurt everybody a-and…I don’t deserve for you to give me the light of day…”

 “You’re different now, Bill. Y-you’re not the same being they think you are,” Mabel assured him, putting her hand over his heart. He blinked as if the action pained him, shoulders shaking, and Mabel felt her own eyes fill up with tears as she hugged him. He let out a shaky breath as he returned her hug, and it only lasted a minute. Bill gently moved her away before he walked off to her room without a word. Even though she could feel Bill’s confusion through their bond, she had enough sense to know not to follow him.


	13. Fanning the Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is the anniversary of when I started shipping mabill, so here's a long and angsty update!  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

Mabel gasped as she sat up in bed, hands touching her tear-streaked face. She had been having nightmares and strange dreams non-stop lately, yet when she woke up, she usually couldn’t remember what they were about. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm down, and the sight of Bill helped calm her significantly so. He was just…

He had one arm thrown over the side of the chair, socked feet sticking up from under a yellow blanket she knitted him. His blonde hair was messy and wild, his other hand stretched way over his head, mouth open and snoring loudly. He was just so adorable. She knew he’d hate to hear that, but he really was. Not just because of the way he looked, though – his personality was another thing in and of itself. He—

Mabel jolted as Bill suddenly…well, it was like he glitched. His body flashed, glitching and fading in and out, and Mabel thought back to the dreams she had been having recently. This…glitching…seemed to be a recurring thing that she’d seen in her dreams. Why would Bill be…?

The glitching stopped as quickly as it came, and she slipped hurriedly out of bed, leaning over the side of his chair as she poked him in a stubbly cheek. She had to do this a couple of times before Bill made a sleepy noise, blue eyes half-opening to look at her.

“Shooting Star…?” he mumbled sleepily, somehow having enough energy to raise an eyebrow at her.

“Sorry to wake you,” Mabel whispered, frown tugging on the corners of her mouth. Bill yawned, rubbing at his eyes tiredly as he shook his head and slurred, “No, ‘s alright…whuddya need, kid?”

“Are you okay?” Mabel asked, touching his hand just to make sure he wouldn’t start glitching again. Bill made a noncommittal noise, eyes closing again as he mumbled, “Am I ever okay?”

Mabel didn’t know how to respond to this – especially because it kind of hurt her heart to hear. She didn’t reply, biting on her fingernails and letting out a sigh.

Bill cracked open an eye at her, and he awakened a bit more at the expression on her face. “What’s with the silence? I’ve been around you long enough to know you’re never quiet.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that, and she opened her mouth to tell Bill about the mysterious nightmares. She refrained, however – she knew how upset Bill had been since the family found out. Stan, specifically, had hurt him the hardest – Bill had been sitting where he and Stan used to watch the sun rise, all by himself as he drank a Pitt cola. Mabel joined him yesterday, but he just…he looked so sad.

She would tell him about the nightmares another time. He was stressed enough as it was. “Everything’s okay, you dork. Let’s go to sleep.”

She kissed his nose and then his cheek and cuddled next to him in the chair. Bill made a contented humming sound, and Mabel finally felt at ease – Bill was safe, and so was she. She knew she was safe because he made her feel…safe. That prospect would’ve made her laugh a year ago, but he really did make her feel protected. He made her laugh, he made her smile, he made her feel significant and important and giddy and…

She didn’t know whether it was the bond or not, but the two of them fell asleep in almost exact unison.

* * *

Bill clicked to the next channel on TV, the rain pouring down outside as he sat with Mabel on his chair under one of the many blankets she had knitted him. It had been a week or so since the whole “I’m your arch nemesis who nearly killed all of you” bombshell had dropped on the Pines family, and things weren’t…normal. Bill hated to admit that he couldn’t stand not having their usual routine.

It was like he couldn’t have both. As soon as he and Mabel admitted their feelings, her whole family turned on him. And of course, he’d choose Mabel over them in a heartbeat, but it was still bothersome. He was used to everything being its usual, crazy weirdness around here!  Stan complaining and drinking a Pitt cola in his chair, Ford doing the crossword and glaring at him, Dipper rattling on about whatever in front of the TV (whenever he was actually here, that is), Mabel laughing and forcing Bill on adventures. But now…

Now Stan was constantly with _Sanchez_. He of course had seen Stan around Rick prior to this – that was how he knew Stan had the portal gun in the basement, what with Rick coming over and using their basement practically as a storage shed on occasion. Bill actually hadn’t talked to Rick once – the man never even acknowledged Bill existed, and Mabel said it was best not to say anything to him because “Grunkle Rick could get crabby with people he doesn’t know.” Usually, Stan met up with him sporadically, but now…now they were together all the time, and Bill had a feeling they were up to something. Whatever it was, he had bad vibes about it.

If they were planning on doing something to Bill, what could they possibly do? They couldn’t expel him from this dimension! Breaking the bond would do things that even _Mabel_ didn’t know about. In addition, as Ford had pointed out, kicking out Bill would kick out Mabel, and Bill didn’t want to take Mabel away from her family any more than the next guy. He…he just wanted her to be happy. And he knew with her family all in dysfunctional shambles, she couldn’t be happy.

Bill looked down at his hands, swallowing thickly. Mabel being happy had been on his mind a lot lately. Her face the whole time that her family was tearing into him…it was _devastating_ to Bill. She looked so miserable, so tortured…he never wanted to see that look on her face again, especially because of his stupid mistakes. He never really thought about how this bond would impact her. He never thought about how she’d be stuck with him forever, about how limited her freedoms were now that she was shackled to him. Could…could Mabel really be happy with him? Was this what was best for her? Did she just think she could, but she wasn’t thinking ahead—

Bill’s thoughts were cut off as he heard Ford open and close the fridge, the smell of cigarette smoke wafting through the air. Great. He expected some sort of confrontation, but Ford simply got whatever he wanted from the fridge, took a drag off a cigarette, and retreated back to his room.  
  
He always liked seeing Stan and Ford get into arguments (family drama could be funny!), but seeing them apart was frustratingly bothersome. Stan apparently was still upset with Ford, and when those two had a conflict, neither of them knew how to handle it. So, Stan was busy with Rick, and Ford smoked and trudged around like he was missing half of who he was. Bill glanced down at Mabel, who was cuddled against his side, to make sure she was still asleep. If she knew Ford was smoking again she’d probably lose it. She was already upset about everything as it was.

He smoothed down her hair, glancing left and right before planting a kiss onto her head. He’d hold everything together for her. Himself, her family – because he hates this upset look in her eye every time she sees what’s been going on. Even though the Pines family had hit a bump in the road, Bill _could_ be happy about the fact that he was with Mabel now. He knew he didn’t deserve her affection or even her time of day, but he couldn’t help but just bask in it. The cuddles, the kisses, the warm smiles and hugs…they just made him so damn happy. Even though Stan and Ford’s words that he “couldn’t care about someone” prodded at him, he chose to ignore them for the time being.

Bill carried Mabel off to her room when the TV turned to static, and he pulled the blankets around her before he collapsed in his chair. He took one last glance at her to make sure she was sleeping okay before he drifted off.

* * *

 

Mabel woke up to the sound of cackling laughter.

She sat up slowly in bed, feeling very, sickly strange as she looked at the room around her with wide eyes. Distorted, garbled colors swirled throughout the atmosphere surrounding her, tiny cracks and rifts in the air causing what looked like sludge to leak through.  She glanced down at her hands and jumped as she glitched over and over, body feeling like it was pulling itself apart and lacing back together every time.

“Bill?” She squeaked out in panicked horror, looking over to see that Bill wasn’t in his chair. She didn’t have time to look for him, because when she faced forward she was looking right into the shadowy face of an eerily familiar creature, one that was right alongside Bill during Weirdmageddon, and took a recurring role as a background character in her nightmares.

“Hey there, Shooting Star!” His voice was nasally, and she thought that voice sounded like the one named Keyhole, but he was just a distorted, looming shadow with glowing eyes, “Long time no see!”

“Wh—?!” Mabel sputtered, back hitting the wall as she tried to scramble away from the figure. “What’s going on—?!”

“Bill didn’t bother to tell you what you signed up for, that’s what!” The voice leered at her cheerfully, creeping closer to her. “We’re just gonna give you a little bit of honesty, that’s all! Your boyfriend—” The voice was overtaken with giggles at the word, and she could hear other familiar, terrifying laughter in the background. “— _hah_ , your _boyfriend_ is gonna get what’s comin’ to him, kid! He’s _pathetic_ now, and it’s not gonna take a lot to break him!”

Mabel fought away her fear, hissing at the shadow, “Bill isn’t the same person you think he is, and he’s not pathetic!”

“ _Person_!” It cackled, the laughter starting up again all around her, and Mabel winced at how loud was as she covered her ears. “Okay, listen, I don’t have time to talk, I’ve gotta be quick! You’re goin’ on a trip to the mindscape, kid! Have fun!”

And then her vision went yellow. When the yellow cleared, she was staring at…well…the most alarming thing she’d seen since Weirdmageddon. It was a place where everything was completely garbed and distorted, looking highly unstable, like it was about to fall apart at any second. Mabel stood there, watching as places were consumed by rifts that gaped in the air like black holes, while other places simply glitched out of existence. Everything was in the swirling colors she remembered from Weirdmageddon, and judging by the giant rift in the sky, Mabel could tell Bill still thought about it just as often as she did.

She…she wasn’t sure why she was here. She found herself walking, looking for some sort of door like in Stan’s mindscape. In the distance, she could see the Mystery Shack, so she decided her best bet was to go there. On her walk over, Mabel realized that all of Bill’s memories were just…out in the open. She could see herself in a field in the distance, dressed in gray and surrounded by tiny candles – the night that her and Bill bonded to each other. She saw the two of them everywhere, actually – boarding the car to the concert, having picnic in the middle of the grass, Mabel spraying him with a water hose while they washed the tourists’ cars. She smiled softly, feeling her heart warm a little at the sight.

“ _Bill_! Bill, what have you _done_?!”

Mabel turned, and behind her, everything was on fire. The world behind the Mystery Shack parking lot dropped off and became completely flat, and was engulfed in flames. She could see a small yellow triangle from behind, floating above it all, arms dropped at his sides and hands still flaming.

“I—?” The triangle looked at his hands, “I don’t—? I thought—” Mabel turned away from the memory, quickly continuing to the Mystery Shack. She felt like that was something Bill wouldn’t want her to see – he’d tell her about…whatever that heartbreaking scene was…when he was ready to.

Mabel walked up the creaky steps to the Mystery Shack, slowly opening the door. Nobody seemed to notice as she stood in the doorway, trying to figure out the scene in front of her. She was standing in the Mystery Shack living room, except the whole room was slowly burning in faint blue flames. Some areas had disappeared completely, others were fading, but what drew her attention most was Bill.

“I’m going to light his mind on fire. I’m going to light this mind on fire with _everyone_ in it. Haven’t you seen what I’ve been doing to him? I’m destroying him from the inside out, and when he dies, I’m going to be free!”

Mabel jolted at Bill’s voice, instinctively taking a step back. She’d gotten so used to Bill’s voice sounding calm, annoyed and sarcastic but laced with warm fondness. Now? Now…he sounded exactly like he used to. And…he looked _exactly_ like he used to.

He…he was in his triangle form, in the middle of the room, entire body fading in and out, looking panicked and frantic. She blinked, unsure what she was seeing before a booming clap rang out and then they were nowhere. Triangular Bill turned, looking like he was about to pass out, and he and Mabel both saw…well, again, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. There was a woman with a bunch of eyes in a cloak and a giant floaty amphibian in the air. Hadn’t she seen that somewhere…didn’t Stan have a pet axolotl or whatever…?

“Bill Cipher,” the axolotl said without moving its mouth, entire body lighting up, “I have heard of your reciting of my incantation.”

“About time!” Bill hissed, body glitching as he turned the best he could to the amphibian. “You gonna help me or not, Kermit? I got places to be and a universe to take back!”

The axolotl didn’t say anything for a long time, and exchanged a glance with the lady with all the eyes.  Finally, it thundered out, “You invoked my power, and I will give you a second chance, Cipher. But it will be at a price. Do you accept?”

“Less talking and more getting me the hell out of here!”

The axolotl glowed a rainbow of colors that made Mabel gape in awe. Bill, however, looked tired and unamused.

“A being who thrived off of insanity  
Will now know a new unexpected humanity   
The ones who he used to despise  
Will make him truly see through once-knowing eyes.”

“Did you just say humanity?” Bill asked, suddenly looking jittery as his entire body was glowing the same rainbow colors, “Whoa whoa— _wait_ —what’re you—?”

Mabel jumped as a giant, thundering tearing sound exploded all around them. Bill was engulfed by a rainbow bubble of colors, and his voice came out shaky, “W-wait, _wait_ —!”

“You’re finally going to understand, Cipher,” the woman with the eyes said firmly, voice calm as Bill began to panic. “You have put the human race through so much throughout all your years. And now you are going to be one of them for the rest of your days.”

“Me?! A-A _human_?!” Bill exclaimed, eye moving around frantically, “Th-that’s _insane_! That doesn’t make any—!!” Bill was cut off as the woman with the eyes moved her hand, and then he was _screaming_. Mabel’s eyes widened in horror, hands thrown over her mouth, as Bill exploded with color and screamed in agony. Nightmares and fire blasted and crackled around him, nearly causing Mabel to fall backwards in shock.  
  
“You will be able to feel the consequence of your actions. You will care about others. You will die someday, but you have been granted the gift to _live_.”

“ _Oh_ —! Oh it _hurts_!” Bill wailed in agony, “M-My back, my _back_ —!” And then he was screaming again, sounding so tortured and pained that Mabel couldn’t just stand there anymore.

“Wh-what’re you doing?!” Mabel exclaimed, trying to run over to the woman with the eyes. The woman looked at her in surprise, “You must be her.”

“I—?” Mabel ignored her words, shaking her head as she looked at Bill desperately, “Stop hurting him! What’re you doing to him!?”

“We’re putting him in his body,” the woman said calmly, as if Bill wasn’t wailing in anguish. She gestured to Bill, who was still glowing, but he wasn’t a triangle anymore. He was bent over, clutching at the shell of his triangle body,  which had a hole ripped through the back of it, and he was still crying in pain. Only now, Mabel could see the gaping, open wound that stretched all across his back. Her hands flew over her mouth in horror, and then she was rushing over to him, crashing to the ground next to him and grabbing him by the arm.

“Bill?! Bill, are you alright?” she begged, and his eyes were still yellow with black pupils, his face a glowing brick pattern. He opened his mouth to say something, but then everything skidded right to a halt as a giant, glitching rift tore straight through the floor beneath Mabel.

She got one last glance at the memory before she fell.

* * *

Bill wasn’t sure how long he was asleep for, but he was woken up by Mabel falling out of the chair. Mabel falling wasn’t anything new – she was endearingly clumsy – but he peeked over the chair with sleepy eyes. “You alright down there, ki—”

Before he even knew what was happening, Mabel had flung herself on top of him, knocking him onto his back as she hugged the life out of him. It took Bill a few seconds to realize she was crying her eyes out, and bone-chilling panic shot through him at the thought. What had happened to her?!

“Mabel?” He managed, hugging her back tightly, horror etched across his face, “What _happened_?”

Mabel choked out a sob, face tear-streaked, as she kissed him. She pulled back, still crying, and still confusing the hell out of him, as she rushed out, “T-they took me to your mindscape! A-and I saw—”

“Whoa, whoa, _wait_. My _what_? My mindscape!?” Bill sat them both up, the panic increasing tenfold as he thought about how unstable his mindscape is, “Who sent you to my mindscape, Shooting Star?! What happened to you?? Do you understand how dangerous it is there?!”

“I-I don’t know who, it was one of your friends from Weirdmageddon?” Mabel rubbed at her eyes, and Bill nearly fell out of the chair. One of his ex-henchmaniacs?! How did they know about Mabel? How did they send her to his mindscape, and why?! This…this was _horrible_ …this couldn’t be happening…

“Are you okay?!” Bill begged, feeling hysterical as he grabbed her by the shoulders. She nodded jerkily, quickly assuring him, “I-I’m fine, Bill! I didn’t get hurt but…but they…”

“What did they do to you?” Bill asked darkly, grip tightening on Mabel’s arms. She looked down at his hold on her, looking alarmed but then shaking it away before Bill could notice, “They sent me to your mindscape and…and I saw…”

He could tell she couldn’t even bear to say it. Bill remembered so many things from over all these years…she could’ve seen him at his absolute worst. If Mabel saw some of the things he had done – if she really understood what a monster he really was, would she even want to be with him? The reality crashed over Bill like a wave – he _really_ didn’t deserve her. And she didn’t deserve _this_. He rubbed at his eyes, shaking his head as his voice came out much more tortured than he wanted it to, “What did you _see_ , Shooting Star?”

“I saw them put you in your body,” she whispered, holding one of his clammy hands in both of hers, “I saw what happened t-to you…”

Bill’s eyelashes fluttered as he looked away from Mabel, unable to face her. He could still feel the pain of being ripped from one body and put into another. He could still remember how scared he was when he woke up in the middle of the grass, bleeding and in agony and not even sure how to walk. He was _ashamed_ that this punishment was what it came to. And really, he deserved worse. He shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t have been given another chance to live and ruin someone else’s life. He glanced at Mabel, able to see the pity and the devotion in her eyes, and in that moment, he really wished he wouldn’t have invoked any power to bring himself back.

“I’m so sorry, Shooting Star,” he said, voice barely audible, hoping she understood what he was apologizing for. He swallowed thickly, wincing as Mabel put her hand on his back.

“You don’t have to be sorry for—”

“I have a _lot_ to be sorry for,” Bill snarled at her, causing her to jump. He put his head in his hands, letting out a shaky breath. He vaguely, self-deprecatingly wondered if Mabel was still afraid of him. If she wasn’t, she probably should be. Especially now that his friends knew she was his ally, and oh lord, he hoped they didn’t know how much Mabel meant to him…

“Bill…” Mabel’s hand was on his back again. He let out a sigh, steeling himself. He owed her these answers – especially since she saw most of it all, anyways. He twitched his nose as he took off his shirt, tossing it behind him carelessly as he sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped. “Go ahead and look at it, Shooting Star,” he said, because he knew she really wanted to see it.

Sure enough, Mabel sat behind him to get a better look. He knew what she could see - the ugly, jagged, glitching scar that was keeping him in this body. They had to leave him with a painful reminder of what he did, and the pain humans feel. _That_ was the first thing he had felt as a human. _Pain_. It seemed pretty accurate – human life seemed to be chock full of pain. She wasn’t saying anything, and Bill felt something that was a mix of embarrassment and self-loathing stab through him.

“I know how you like everything to be pretty and perfect, but this…this is _hideous_. I know. You _should_ be scared. If this makes y-you disgusted with me, then you can tell me—!”

Mabel leaned forward and kissed the top of his back. This stalled Bill into silence, especially when she hugged him from behind, “It’s not hideous, Bill. I like you just the way you are.”

Bill felt his eyes prick with tears at this, and he looked down at his hands as he swallowed thickly. He sniffled, “Shooting Star…”

She didn’t say anything for a long time, but she did turn him around so they were facing each other. She laced his fingers with hers, and he hated how he winced at the contact, because he just…he knew it wasn’t safe for her to be around him. As long as she was stuck with him, she was in danger. He shook his head, deciding not to think about it, “So to answer your question from when we met, this body _is_ mine. The Oracle and that damn Axolotl forced me into it and I’m stuck like this, until I die. And in the grand scheme of things, another seventy years doesn’t seem like much time left.”

“Bill…” Mabel sounded so pained that it hurts him even more. “You can’t think like that. The rest of your life is going to be even better than all the other years, because now you’re really living.”

Bill snorted, shaking his head, as she squeezed his hands. When did she get so smart? That couldn’t be his influence on her, that’s for sure. He used to think he was all-knowing, but he really didn’t know a damn thing. Mabel asked gently, “What’s with all the glitching, Bill?”  
  
Bill thought about the glitching, thought about the mindscape, but most of all, he thought about the way Mabel was glitching when she was trapped in his mindscape. This was what caused him to sigh, “My mindscape is…still tied to the nightmare realm. The reason I needed a bond in the first place was to anchor my body to a dimension that wasn’t decaying. Before, if my realm disintegrated, then so would I. Now…now it’s just my mindscape. When that’s gone, so are all the powers I have left, and I’m just a plain human fleshbag.” He left out the part about if something happened to him in his mindscape, she’d be destroyed too, although it flashed in the front of his mind like an ambulance siren.

**  
** “So you really _did_ need a bond,” Mabel mumbled to herself, clearly surprised he wasn’t just trying to be a jerk. He rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry, I didn’t ruin your life for no reason.”

Mabel looked at him strangely, then glared at him sharply, “You didn’t ruin my life. Stop being so negative, it’s making me feel negative.”

He waved her off, crossing his arms indignantly. He was confused and having an existential crisis, what else did she expect from him? He went to say as much, but Mabel looked at him and asked, “Oh, and…I heard you say something, right before the axolotl came. You said you were destroying ‘him’ from the inside out…who were you talking about?”

Bill felt ice slide into his veins, and he tried his hardest to look unaffected by the question. He scratched his chin, channeling his inner-liar, “I, ah, don’t remember that.”

“I saw it in one of your _memories_ , Bill.”

“Well, I was about to die. I was talking crazy,” Bill quickly dismissed the question, and he thanked his lucky stars that Mabel seemed to drop it. Bill looked into her worried eyes and he managed a small grin, for her sake. He’d spent the past however many years lying, and he can do it a little more. “Everything is fine, kid,” he forced himself to say, trying his hardest to put on a positive face for her.

Mabel smiled, poking him on the nose, “Then I guess I don’t have to worry ever again, right?”

Bill smiled at her weakly, because…he wasn’t so sure that should be true anymore. He needed to start thinking about what was best for Mabel – if she trusted him unconditionally, then he should be able to be trusted. Mabel smiled gratefully at him, but she was looking at him as if he was going to disappear any second. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it and looked away.

“Shooting Star?” Bill tapped her on the nose. “What’re you thinking about?”

Mabel blinked, rubbing her hands over her eyes before lifting her eyes tohim, “I…I’m just worried about you…”

He offered her another grin, lies already at the ready, “Well, as you can see, I’m okay. That stuff you saw…it happened a long time ago. And since we have a bond and I can keep out of the mindscape, I’m not in any danger.”

“You know I worry about you,” Mabel chuckled fondly, finally looking like she’d calmed down a bit, leaving Bill feeling exhaustingly pleased among his overpowering feelings of guilt and panic. She looked at him again, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He sighed, weakly smiling, “Couldn’t be better—”

Mabel’s eyes suddenly went yellow.

Bill felt ice stab through his veins, frozen as he breathed, “Shooting Star?” Before he could say anything more, her entire body glitched drastically, nearly blinking out of existence. And it didn’t stop, and her eyes were _yellow_ , and—

Bill let out a yell as he nearly fell out of the bed, frantically grabbing her by the shoulders. Her head lolled to the side, yellow eyes unblinking, as Bill shook her desperately, “Shooting Star!!? Wake up, come on—! Wake _AAH_ —!” Her body glitched again, causing his own hands to glitch, and he cursed to himself before shaking her again. But she wasn’t waking up.

Bill had had a couple panic attacks in his time as a human, and he thought that was as worse as that feeling could get. But it paled in comparison to this. His entire body was practically shaking, eyes wide in frantic fear, as he begged, “Shooting Star, _please_ wake up, what’s going on—?! _Mabel please_ —” He could hardly keep it together as he propped Mabel up against the wall, running his hands frantically through his hair. He had to do something. She was just in his mindscape. They must’ve dragged her back. He didn’t care how much energy it used, he had to do something now.

Bill touched the top of her head, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before he quickly stammered out an incantation that would take him to where her consciousness was. He’d never actually done this one before, because it consumed so much energy, but he couldn’t care in the slightest what happened to himself.

He let out a small noise through clenched teeth as he kept his hand firmly on Mabel’s head, feeling himself begin to glitch along with her as he was dragged from this realm to another. Oh lord, what if something happened to her? What if he couldn’t fix this? What if—

Bill blinked, and he was in his own mindscape. It was just as unbearable as he remembered, and he was nearly knocked backwards with dread. His fear for Mabel, however, kept him upright, as he searched around the decaying place frantically.

“Looking for something?”

He turned, and in front of him, _of course_ , were his ex-henchmaniacs. And even worse, Mabel was hovering above them all, unconscious, eyes glowing yellow. He swore under his breath as he tried to flash the most impassive smile he could to his once-friends. He was officially in the worst position imaginable.  



	14. Nowhere To Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for violence and torture! It's not very descriptive but it happens, so bewarb if that's not your jam!  
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos! Please continue to leave your comments!!

_This is all my fault._

That was what was playing on a loop in his head as he stared at the horrific scene in front of him. Mabel, whose eyes usually looked at him with trust and affection and hope, bright brown and sparkling, were wide open, emotionless, blank and glowing a sickly yellow. Just like they had been when she had been first sent here. How did this keep happening?! How did they know and oh lord, they had her now, and they could do anything to her, and if they hurt him, it would hurt her, and—!

Bill steeled himself, taking a step closer. The sickening colors of the nightmare realm swirled around him, jarring his vision, and the place he used to reside had never felt more foreign to him. He never had considered this home, of course. When he thought of home, he thought of what he always did. A creaky old staircase, a traumatic living room, a drafty kitchen, a pink room with a hideous, comfortable chair he slept in…

Bill blinked, unable to have this type of revelation right now. He considered the Mystery Shack as his home, which was annoyingly ironic, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. Because all around Mabel were the maniacs he had once referred to as friends, all grinning disgustingly wide smiles at him. His eyelashes fluttered, and his mouth slightly opened as if he was going to say something. What could he possibly say? Whatever he had done to them, they wanted revenge for it. He racked his brain to try and figure out what - were they still mad about Weirdmageddon? Were they angry that he was dating a human, and Mabel Pines no less? Or maybe it was that he was ditching them in a rapidly decaying mindscape? Either way, they have an abundance of reasons to hate him, and in turn, hate Mabel.

Whatever it was, knowing it probably wouldn’t make a difference now. He had to be smart about this. Bill glanced back at Mabel, lips gone dry as he forced his panic down as deep as he could stuff it. She was lifelessly hanging in the air, hair messy and skin completely drained of color. Her mouth was slightly opened, head lolled to the side, and her eyes were as wide as saucers and glowing this horrifying yellow. The sight alone was enough to make Bill feel like he was going to faint, and he had no idea what they were even doing to her. If he wanted to save Mabel, he’d have to slip into his old persona, and put on one hell of a convincing show.

“Hey, guys! Longtime no see! What’s going on?” He managed to ask in his regular cheery tone. His “friends” exchanged glances, and Bill’s palms began to sweat as he realized they could probably see right through him. This…this wasn’t going to be easy.

“Uh, sorry, we don’t associate with humans,” Pyronica giggled behind her hand, causing everyone else around him to break out into snickers.

“Yeah, who woulda thought the guy who wanted to take over Gravity Falls went and became a resident!”

Everyone burst into laughter, and Bill blinked at them in confusion before looking down and remembering he was in fact in his human form. He blew a piece of hair out of his eyes, foot tapping against the ground restlessly. If he had ever acted like these idiots, no wonder why everyone used to hate him…

“Hey, this form is purely for tactical reasons,” Bill crossed his arms indignantly, “Are you wondering why I’m so devilishly handsome? Tactical! I—”

“Oh, we know Mabel Pines finds you attractive!” Someone called out, and then everyone was laughing again. Bill’s face lit up hotly, and his hands balled into fists as he took another step closer.

“Hey! Let’s not forget who you guys are laughing at! I’m the most powerful being of this realm, and I could really show you what a nightmare really is if I wanted to!” Bill hissed, sparks of fire zipping out of his clenched knuckles.

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you show us?” Keyhole grinned, raising an eyebrow. Bill’s nose twitched as he sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. To keep a human form and to follow Mabel’s consciousness, he’s had to use a lot of his energy. He wondered how much destruction and fire he could even summon now through his human form, and with such little energy. He lit those trees on fire that one time, and almost burned Gideon’s face off, but to face people whose power was almost matching to the level of power he used to have…

He looked at Mabel floating up there, and he was pretty sure his anger could probably generate a city alone. Still, he couldn’t take any chances while she was in their grasp – he just hoped they wouldn’t realize that.

“Look guys,” Bill tried to say calmly, eyes occasionally darting over to Mabel, “I don’t want to hurt any of you. You guys are my friends! What do you want with Mabel anyways?”

“You didn’t think we’d really let you leave us here, did you? We need someplace to go, buddy.” Krytos grinned knowingly at him, “What we were promised all those years ago was Gravity Falls. And you’re the only one who can really get it for us.”

“While you were off gallivanting around with her,” Pyronica swept a hand in Mabel’s direction, and Bill opened his mouth to threaten her, thinking she was going to hurt Mabel. Pyronica just grinned sharply at him as he leaned back, trying to act casual again. “Do you know what we’ve been doing? Waiting for you to come back and save us from this decaying realm. It took us way longer than expected to realize you weren’t coming back for us.”

“Hey guys, listen,” Bill shook his head, trying to play the part, “I didn’t ask for this body, and I didn’t—”

“You asked for a bond,” Pyronica hissed and Bill paled. He…uh, definitely didn’t expect them to know about that. He supposed he could see how that constituted as a betrayal; him leaving them to rot as he skipped out on them and their entire dimension scot-free…

“Oh please, so dramatic! Don’t you have any faith in me? It was all a part of my—”

“There’s one of those words you love so much, Bill! ‘I, me, my—’ because everything is about you!” she yelled, fire shooting around her in a circle, and he took a step back. He didn’t remember Pyronica always being this…manic. He knew firsthand being hopelessly stuck in a decaying dimension could do that to a being. “But now…” She continued, her look of anger morphing into a vicious glee, “It’s not all about you. It’s all about her.”

Her eyes glowed, and so did Mabel. Bill took a dangerous step forward, façade dropping as he hissed, “What do you think you’re gonna—?”

Pyronica merely hummed, “They say that when you love someone, you can feel their pain…” Then she grinned at him, and snapped her fingers. Mabel’s arm twisted and snapped, and before Bill could react past looking at Pyronica with murderous eyes, his arm did the same. Pyronica chuckled at him darkly, “Man, manipulating a bond can be so funny…”

“Leave Mabel out of this,” Bill snarled through his pain, storming over to her furiously as his feet burned holes into the ground. “I swear, if you touch her again, I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Just admit it, Bill! She’s your weakness! The only thing that can make you do what we say,” Pyronica grinned predatorily at him. Bill glared at her murderously, worrying his bottom lip into his mouth as more sparks zipped from his fists. He knew he should be trying to lie and stay impassive, but hey, he had a passionate heart. One that felt like it was charred and on fire as his entire body glitched in fury.

“I don’t have a weakness,” he hissed, blonde hair falling over his eye as he leaned closer to them. They all laughed, and Bill pushed his hair in frustration off of his face, never feeling more uncomfortable in his human body than he did in this moment.

“Yet you followed her here, the one place you hate the most! Because you love her!” Pyronica taunted, hands condescendingly on her hips.

“I do hate this place, but only because you weaklings are here,” Bill growled at her, eyes darting over to Mabel’s body extended in the air. His control over his emotions was spiraling fast, and the more he looked at Mabel the more frantic and furious he got. He wanted to protect her, to hold her closer and kiss her and apologize for ever getting her wrapped up in—

“You can’t even bring yourself to deny it, can you?” Pyronica laughed, clutching her sides.  
“Deny what?” Bill hissed, attention dangerously snapping back to her.

 “You can’t deny that you love Mabel!” She gestured to the floating girl in the air. “ _The_ Bill Cipher, in love with Mabel Pines!”

“There’s a little thing a great man I know likes to say, and it goes a little like this – _fuck off_. I don’t—” The words got stuck in his throat as he tried to force out the words that shouldn’t be hard to say. Love? He…he couldn’t love Mabel. He couldn’t love anyone. Could he? He’d never felt… _never been able to feel_ …

He closed his eyes, trying to channel all his bravery to just say it, to just simply say that he didn’t love her. It should be easy, he’d never even said it to her, never even thought too much into it, just because he assumed it wasn’t possible for him. But when he closed his eyes, he just saw her. He saw her, with her bright smile and adoring brown eyes and soft brown hair. He could feel her soft hands wrapping around his, her warm, bubbly laugh as she planted sparkly kisses all over his face. Caring about someone was crazy enough, but loving someone!? Devoting yourself completely to them forever, loving them completely and fully with everything one has…

But that was how he felt about Mabel.

He…he…

Bill looked at Mabel and felt terribly sick. He loved her but he couldn’t love her. He couldn’t put her through this – she shouldn’t be here, and he shouldn’t have ever dragged her into anything to save his own life. Mabel deserved a normal guy who didn’t have demons, figuratively and literally. He knew he cared for her, but love? Love meant forever, and she didn’t deserve to be in danger forever. He looked at her up there again and felt like he wanted to tear his own heart out and crush it underneath his foot.

He could only look at Pyronica with a killer glare, adam’s apple bobbing, because he couldn’t say it. He was the best liar he knew, yet he couldn’t say it. The beings in front of him burst into their jeering laughter again, and Bill could only stand there with his chest puffed out and a wicked glare on his face as his stomach sunk to his feet.

“He loves her! The man who once sat on a throne of humans, here he is turned into one and in love with–”

“What I feel and what I don’t feel doesn’t matter!” Bill finally yelled, fisting at his hair. “You guys don’t need me to take over Gravity Falls! I couldn’t do it back then, and I sure as hell can’t do it now! I don’t even want to! Mabel’s family is there and they’re my family too! Yeah, that’s right! Remember that family that we tried to destroy and all? They’re my family now too! So suck on that!”  
  
Everyone stared at him for a second, and sickening smiles curled on their features. He lost his temper, and said much more than he should’ve. But he still didn’t exactly know how to control his emotions, and he was just so scared for Mabel, and confused, and…really, really afraid about loving her. One of the curses he also got with this body, apparently, was a lack of filter. Bill sucked in air through his teeth, regret and nerves stabbing painfully through his body.

“You know what? We don’t need you to help us take over Gravity Falls.” Pyronica grinned, body darkening and eyes glowing pink as she raised a fist.

“H-hey! What’re you–”

Bill let out a started cry as Mabel’s leg moved just a tiny bit, Bill’s moving in unison and causing him to stumble. Her head lolled to the side, blood-soaked hair falling along with it, before her leg bent a way it shouldn’t before his eyes.

“Stop! Stop!” Bill’s voice boomed around him, running over to where Mabel hung in the air. He only got a couple of inches before his leg followed suit, cracking painfully and causing him to fall over. He was stopped in mid-fall, however, and extended into the air across from her, unable to move. He hoped that maybe now that they had him, they’d stop torturing her and start torturing himself instead. But instead, he was just stuck there, just stuck watching as one of the beings below him lit their hand up in dark, ominous-colored flames. Mabel’s chest – right where her heart was – glowed the same color, her body looking like the life and soul was draining straight out of it. This time, he wasn’t getting the same affect, because they wanted him alive for this. They were going to make him watch her die.

“I will annihilate all of you!! You’ve seen firsthand what I can do, and you will be destroyed at the hands of your greatest nightmares! Let her go and let me down!!” Bill yelled, eyes glowing from white to yellow and entire body glitching frantically and going up in flames. His head was forced to turn back to Mabel as he tried thrashing in the air, and he was forced to watch as her eyes got dark circles, her face became sunken in, and her hair began to lose its color. He couldn’t take it. Something in him broke completely, and he couldn’t take it for a second longer.

“Okay, okay, please, I’ll do what you want, just let her go!” he begged frantically, body shaking violently, tears pricking his eyes. He begged them endlessly to let her go, that he’d do what they wanted, but they kept insisting they didn’t need him.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, it happened. He watched with wide eyes, not even aware that he was crying as he hiccuped out threats and pleas, as Mabel’s neck slowly began to move. He shook his head in horror, a choked, horrified gasp ripping through his throat, as Pyronica made a twisting motion with her hand.

“Wait! Wait! Stop, please, listen to me!” Bill cried desperately, ripping at his hair. “I’m begging you, don’t hurt her any more!! I’ll do anything you want, I’ll take over the town, I’ll kill anyone, I’ll do anything—just don’t hurt her anymore!”

“We told you we don’t need you, Cipher,” Pyronica sang, hand still in the air.

“You obviously do! And I get the message, okay? I’ll do whatever you want! You sure drove your point home!” Bill hissed, tears running down his cheeks.

“Look at you. Bill Cipher, crying over a human,” Pyronica shook her head. “We’ve got a lot of work to do on you, Bill.”

“Do whatever you want to me,” he hissed through his teeth. “Just stop hurting her!”  
Pyronica raised her other hand, and Bill went falling from the air to the ground. He forced himself to stand up, looking desperately at Mabel, before a sharp hand grabbed his cheeks and turned his head to face them.

“I’ll turn her back to normal and send her home, so long as you give us permission to use you for what we want. Do we have a deal?” Pyronica raised an eyebrow with a sharp-toothed grin.

“Yes, yes, just fix her,” Bill instantly said, holding out his hand. Pyronica smiled, letting go of his cheeks before clasping her hand around his. Their hands lit up in pink flames, and they only shook once before Pyronica snapped her fingers.

Bill watched with worried eyes as the glowing light around Mabel disappeared. He ran over to her, his limbs unbroken, catching her as she dropped from the air and almost hit the ground. Finally, she was back in his arms again. Bill let out a sigh of relief as his head dropped against her chest in exhaustion. The blood was gone, her bones were back in place, and he could hear her heartbeat. He picked his head up slightly, and her eyes were part-way opened as she tried to stay conscious, and now they were white instead of yellow.

“B-Bill…?” Mabel asked, voice cloudy with sleep. He swallowed thickly, slowly dropping to his knees as he held her close against his chest and hugged her.

“Hey, Shooting Star,” he said quietly, face nuzzled against her hair. “Are you okay? Feel any pain?”

“No…why? Are you okay?” She whispered sleepily, yawning as she snuggled into his embrace. Bill paused, because he could feel the awful glares of the beings behind him, and he could already sense that they had some spine-chilling horrors ahead for him. They could make him do anything – but he’d do it, so long as Mabel was alright.

“Are you okay?” He asked back, hand gently tangling in her hair to make sure there was no more blood as he leaned up to look at her. She looked up at him sleepily, eyes hardly even able to stay open.

“Just a little tired,” she assured him with a smile. “But other than that, I feel fine.”

“As long as you’re okay, so am I,” he promised her. He paused, turning slightly to see Pyronica leering at him with a sharp grin. Pyronica smirked, “You’re gonna have to break your ties, if you know what I mean, and then come back here. For good.”

He sighed, nodding to himself, because he did know what she meant. “I’ll be back,” he promised sharply. “Soon.” He steeled himself, gathering the remaining energy that he had left before transporting himself and Mabel back to her room. The thing he saw before escaping his mindscape for the very last time were the leering, torturous grins of his friends. Then he blinked out of sight. 

When he and Mabel got back to her room, to the beautiful, wonderful Shack that he suddenly wanted to cry over having to leave, he carefully set Mabel in her bed. He wavered, looking at his stupid, beautiful chair, before collapsing on the bed next to her and blacking out completely.

* * *

It wasn’t until some hours later that Bill woke up, alone in Mabel’s bed. It took a couple seconds for what he swore was the color yellow to stop flashing in front of his vision, then fade away as he slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked outside, and to his surprise, rather than the sunrise he usually awakened to, it was the sunset. He worriedly wondered where Mabel was, but one look out the window showed him she was helping Soos lead a tour. The sky was nearly dark, and it dawned upon him that he must’ve slept all day. Well wasn’t that ironic, the sun setting instead of rising. 

 Bill ran a hand through his hair, eyes feeling suspiciously hot and stomach churning. He really, really didn’t want to do this. He just wanted to keep being here, with Mabel, and not have to leave her. But he had to.

That in mind, he found Stanford in the hallway. He eyed the cigarette twirling between Ford’s fingers, and he said, for Mabel’s sake,  “You really should quit that, Fordsy.”

Ford opened his mouth to probably snarl at him to not call him ‘Fordsy’ (a slip of Bill’s tongue that he instantly regretted, per usual), but instead, Ford stared at him and said, “You look beat.”

“I suppose I _have_ been beat,” Bill muttered ruefully. Ford merely blinked at him, and Bill leaned against the wall, eyes downcast, “I’m sorry for ruining your family.”

Ford didn’t say anything for a couple seconds. He leaned against the wall with Bill, “I wish you would’ve had this supposed change of heart thirty years earlier, you know. Would’ve saved a lot of trouble.”

He couldn’t catch a break, could he? He deserved it, though, so he didn’t argue it. Instead he mumbled, “Me too.” He ignored how Ford’s head snapped to him in shock, and he continued staring at the ground. “I regret it all every day, Stanford. But one thing…one thing I don’t regret is loving her. I just wish…I really hope she doesn’t love me too. It would make everything…so much easier…”

Ford swallowed, almost looking concerned, if Bill didn’t know any better. “Better for you, or better for her?”

“I-I don’t know anymore.” He shook his head, and then something in him broke, looking at Ford with pleading eyes, “I have to get out of here, Stanford. What do I do?”

Ford’s eyes widened. He stared at Bill for the longest time, as if he even knew why Bill wanted to leave, before his gaze turns to an incredulous one, “You made her fall for you, and now you’re leaving her?”

“I have to,” Bill hissed, “Unless you want more danger than ever to come her way. I have to…but I don’t think…”

Ford waited, but Bill couldn’t finish. He swallowed thickly, despising the tears he felt building up, before feelings tears that he despised build, before Ford had to urge him on, “You don’t think…?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to.”

Ford seemed to absorb this, and then he put his hand on Bill’s shoulder. Bill nearly jumped, expecting pain, but instead Ford was giving him a look that was a cross between anger and sympathy. He said quietly, “If you know what’s best for Mabel, then you’ll leave. You’ll leave and you’ll let her forget about you. And if you know what’s best for yourself…” Ford looked at Bill seriously, “…you’ll forget too. I don’t think you’ll be able to do this, otherwise. You’re still Bill Cipher. You’ve been selfish for trillions of years – and you can’t stop now. Not unless you make yourself. Not unless you make yourself forget.”

Bill felt his world tilt a bit, hating what Ford was saying the longer he continued on. One of the reasons he hated it so much was because Ford was right. It didn’t take just one person to change someone’s entirety. Right? He was still a selfish bastard, and he was too selfish to give her up so easily. The idea of her with someone else, with marrying them and kissing them and looking at them the way she looked at him, it made him sick. It made him want to cease this painful thing he called his existence. The only way to truly accept leaving her was to wipe her from his memory completely, but…

Bill’s mind flashed to the horrifying flames of the memory gun as Ford said softly, “Go and check in on Stanley. That’s all I’m saying about it.”

Bill forgot to breathe as he realized what Stan had been working on with Rick. It made sense, really – the memory gun had been the only thing to defeat him in all these years. Why not try again? He let out a hysterical laugh-sob, head in his hands as he slid back against the wall. He really, really didn’t want to forget all this time he’d spent with her. It’d had to have been at least a year at this point since they’d made the bond. And in that year, he’d become a new person – a better person – because of her. Without her, he was just…he was Bill Cipher. And he hated the sound of that more than anything.

“It was…nice, you know. Getting to know you guys,” Bill said softly. “I never really got to know you, Stanford, because you figured me out so quickly. But spending time with you and your family…it was the best thing to happen to me in all my years. I’ll be sorry to forget it…”

“You—? You’re really going to use the memory gun?”

“For her sake,” Bill sighed, nodding to himself. “I’d do anything for her.”

Ford was clearly tongue-tied, just staring at Bill as if he’d grown a second head. He breathed, “Y-you really do love her, don’t you? You…you really have changed.”

Bill’s head whipped to him, never expecting those words to leave Ford’s mouth. He kind of smiled regretfully at Stanford, “I really hope I remember you saying that to me. I finally got something to sink into that big head of yours.”

Ford rubbed his temples, looking upset as he helped Bill to his feet. He didn’t look at him as he said, “Like I said, visit Stanley. You know what to do.”

“I gotcha, Sixer,” Bill agreed. “And that was the last nickname slip, I promise.” He looked at the hallway, trying to soak it all in, as he gave Ford a tiny farewell smile and a finger gun before walking away, intent on going to Stan’s room. He could feel Ford’s eyes on him until he was out of sight.

Bill got to Stan’s room and he ever so slightly cracked open the door. When he saw Stan and Rick on the bed, he blanched, but he thankfully realized they were just working on…yes, it was a memory gun. Rick passed Stan a screwdriver. Stan held a cigar between his teeth and occasionally puffed as he worked. Bill hated how he missed watching the sunrise with him.

“And you’re sure you w-want this thing back in existence? A memory gun was wh-what almost erased your mind, Lee…”

Stan looked down at his hands, gaze burning, and Bill could tell they were both remembering the same event. Only the two of them could really understand what happened in Stan’s mind that day. And clearly, they were both haunted by it.

“I’m sure,” Stan nodded firmly. “I don’t care what happens to me, we’ve just gotta get him out of here, Rick. I can’t take this much longer, and this is the only way.”

Rick looked at Stan with the flash of concern Stan didn’t seem to notice, but that Bill caught with an ache in his heart. He had someone who looked at him like that. And he really didn’t want to lose that. Knowing that he was going to made him feel like he was about face his death head-on, and the feeling was surreal.

Stan grunted as he went back to work, looking betrayed and angry at the mention of Bill. This proved to be correct as Stan tossed Rick the screwdriver, flopping back on the bed, picking up a pillow, and screamed in frustration into it. Rick looked at him in concern for a short while longer before shaking his head and getting back to work.

Stan stopped when Rick patted his leg, offering him something of an assuring smirk, “We’re gonna get him soon, Lee. You don’t h-have to worry much longer.”

 Stan nodded to Rick, then to himself. Rick was right. They wouldn’t have to worry much longer, and once Bill forgot, then neither would he.  



	15. Destroyed Humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the angstiest chapter yet! Please continue to leave your comments!   
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos!

Mabel walked into her bedroom to see Bill on the edge of her bed, hair messy and dark circles underneath his eyes. She was surprised enough to see him awake – he had nearly spent the whole day asleep, which was anything but normal for him. He usually woke up at the crack of dawn, while she was the one to sleep in.

“Bill!” She bounded over to him, and his gaze snapped to hers in surprise, “I was starting to get worried! How late did you stay up last night? You usually never—”

“Mabel,” he breathed, practically jumping up from where he sat and grabbing her by the arms. He looked into her eyes, checking for something she didn’t understand, “Are you alright?”

She blinked, then smiled questioningly at him. She knew firsthand that Bill was a protective guy, but this was amusingly ridiculous. “Of course I’m alright, I—” Before she could finish responding, Bill quickly grabbed her arm and moved it, asking hurriedly, “Does this hurt?”

She raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “No?”

“What about your leg? Your neck?” He pushed back her hair and seemed relieved, to her confusion, at whatever he saw. She patted his cheek, “Nope. They’re perfectly fine!”

He sighed and then crushed her into…well, it was the biggest hug he’d ever given her. Usually, she was the one who hugged the life out of him, and then he laughed and pushed her away and found a way to subtly return the affection. But this? His arms were wrapped tightly around her, his face against her shoulder and neck, and it was like he was hugging her as if she had just died or something! She returned the hug, patting his back, “Not that I don’t love hugs, but…are you alright?”

He nodded, swallowing thickly. Mabel’s smile fell a bit in concern, and when she pulled away gently he let her, but refused to let her arms go. She tilted her head to get a better look at him, and was very surprised to see his eyes glassy. She cupped his face in worry, “Bill, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, kid, just…I’m fine.”

She frowned worriedly, “You don’t look fine…”

“I am,” he hissed, causing her to flinch. He saw this and only looked more wretched, running a hand through his already-messy hair as he stood up and began pacing. What in the world could be wrong with him? She was used to Bill being moody, but this seemed…extreme. Mabel was usually fantastic at reading people, but with Bill, it seemed like she could never figure him out. Which really said something, being as she felt all the emotions he did while he was feeling them.

“Well…” she said unsurely, but then found her footing, “I’m glad you woke up, because I need to show you something.”

Bill looked at her, raising an eyebrow, “You what?”

“I need to show you something!” she said cheerily, extending a hand to him.

“Shooting Star, I’m really not…” He trailed off when he got a good look at her face, which she knew had fallen into a disappointed frown. He stared at her, then let out a breath before taking her hand gently in his.

“Look, kid,” he said softly, yet uneasily, “I’m sorry if I’m not in the greatest mood today…there’s just a lot on my mind. It’s…it’s not your fault.”

“That’s what I’m here for, silly. To drag you out of your own mind and make you have a good time! Now, come on, follow me,” She smiled brightly at him, determined to lift whatever bad mood had come over him, as she yanked him by the hand out of the room. She missed the look of affection that crossed his face, which morphed into misery as he followed her blindly. She also missed him pat the pocket of his suit coat, making sure the memory gun was safely there.

* * *

Bill was quietly following behind Mabel as she led the two of them through the woods. She didn’t try to push him to talk to her – she was comfortable enough just holding his hand, a beautiful sunset glowing around them and the promise of making Bill happy up ahead.

She risked a glance back at him, and he didn’t seem to notice her looking at him. He looked worried and deep in thought, and she could feel a pang of misery that he was feeling that she tried desperately to ignore. She hated being sad on her own accord, but knowing Bill was sad made her feel even worse. She didn’t understand why he felt so sad, so miserable – but she was determined to fix whatever was wrong.

She had a nagging idea that it had to do with last night, where she was dragged into Bill’s mindscape, but that really wasn’t his fault! It was his weird henchmaniacs, and they didn’t even hurt her. She knew, however, the mere idea of her getting hurt was enough to send Bill into a panic. It was the same way she felt about him – she couldn’t stand the notion of him being sad. That in mind, they finally reached the destination she wanted to take him, and she halted them both.

“Alright,” she stopped him abruptly, right in front of a curtain that was thrown up over a couple of looping trees. “We’re here!”

“Here?” he raised an eyebrow, looking left to right. “Where’s ‘here?’”

“Well,” Mabel beamed coyly at him, “You tried to give me a nice woods dinner once, and it’s kind of a special occasion, so…”

Bill blinked at her like a deer in headlights, and Mabel pulled back the curtain, leading him through the bowed trees. Consulting her Romance Crew (a call home to Waddles) on the question of the most romantic night possible, she had decided in the exact spot he had tried last time, to set up a dinner. She watched excitedly as Bill’s eyes scanned over it all – the candles, lights in the trees, two chairs across from each other at table, which was clad in knitted tablecloth, and had a sparkly yet appetizing dinner on it.

She expected a bright yet sarcastic smile and a kiss on the head. Instead, Bill’s face grew more distraught, and she felt his feeling of dread like a punch to the gut. Before she could open her mouth and ask worriedly if she did something wrong, Bill managed to choke out, emotional and overwhelmed, “I-I…this is…too much, Shooting Star…”

“Oh, please,” Mabel smiled at him, relieved that she wasn’t she was reading overwhelmed for dread, “You did the same thing for me! Except this time, hopefully nothing gets caught on fire.” She chuckled, tilting her head to see his face, and he could hardly manage anything more than a twitch of his lips. She grabbed his arm, gently sitting him down in his chair before taking the seat across from him.

She sat down, looking at the food she made proudly, before looking back up at him. He was staring at her longingly, almost sadly, and it made her heart constrict with her own sadness and confusion. He opened his mouth, some combination of words on his tongue, before Mabel reached and took Bill’s hand across the table, and his gaze snapped up to hers. Mabel smiled gently, “Hey, calm down. I can feel what you do through our bond, remember? What’s with all the sad, Bill?”

“I’m sorry, Shooting Star,” he said, bringing her hand up and kissing it, making her heart flutter. “This really is…amazing…heh, if this is your way of showing up my attempt at a woods date, then you’ve really knocked me out of the park.”

“Give yourself a little more credit! The date you threw me was still good!”

“I lit the entire forest on fire.”

“But it was still romantic! Plus, it was when we had our first kiss, so it’s become a historical night regardless”! Mabel beamed, and she felt a burst of pride when she got him to smile, just a little bit. She looked at him thoughtfully before flashing him a crafty smile of her own, “Do you know what special occasion this is for?”

He blinked, searching his already distracted mind, and came up blank. He offered an apologetic side-smile, squeezing her hand, “Sorry kid, you know how calendar dates are for me. They just kinda blend together.”

She grinned, “I know time has always been kind of a petty thing to you, but dates have always been important to a dedicated scrap-booker such as myself!” Her expression grew affectionate and warm, “It’s about to be a year since we made our deal.”

His eyes widened, eyebrows raising into his hairline. His hand tensed in hers, and he seemed to freeze where he sat, lost in his own mind. Mabel couldn’t blame him for being shocked – to her, it felt like they’d been together for the longest time. She couldn’t even imagine life without Bill in it, and frankly, she didn’t want to. This past year, Bill had grown so much and come so far, and she couldn’t have been more happy for him. She was surprised when he snorted self-deprecatingly, “And a year later, do you completely regret any type of involvement with me?”

“Bill,” Mabel laced her fingers with his, unable to hide the adoration in her voice, “I don’t regret the bond for a second. If I hadn’t made it, I wouldn’t be here right now. And I’m…you make me really happy.” At his expression, she found herself asking almost timidly, “Do you…have regrets?”

He wrapped his other hand around hers desperately, watery eyes meeting hers. His voice came out thick with emotion, “Being with you…it’s the one thing in my entire existence that I don’t regret. Do you really mean…did I actually make you happy at all?”

“Of course! Although I hated you at first, the first moment I saw your face I knew something was different.” She chuckled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, “If you would’ve told me a year ago I was going to fall in love with Bill Cipher, I’d probably have laughed for an hour straight! Remember when you first came into the gift shop and were being all—”

“Wait,” Bill held up a finger swiftly, sounding like the air was knocked out of his body. “What did you just say?”

She blinked, trying to remember what she had just said. She tilted her head, “If you would’ve told me a year ago I was going to fall in—“ She paused, and then she smiled at him. He brought a hand to his forehead, standing up, looking like he was going to faint as Mabel squeezed his hand and chuckled, “Is it really that much of a surprise that I’m in love with you? You were the one who called it was going to happen.”

She felt so light, so happy it was finally out there, and she couldn’t wait for him to say it back. Why wouldn’t he? Mabel knew Bill loved her too – he’d told her countless times she was the only thing that mattered to him, and she believed it. He turned and looked at her, and she froze as something in him seemed to snap.

“Would you still ‘love me,’” he said this in air-quotes, voice shaking yet icy cold, “If I broke our bond?”

Mabel’s eyebrows knitted, utterly shocked at his reaction as she looked left to right, then back to him. “Why wouldn’t I…?”

“Because then you wouldn’t have to put up with me,” he hissed, her eyebrows raising up to her hairline, “Then you wouldn’t be feeling any second-hand emotions from my stupid human body!”

Mabel stood up, hands on her hips as she looked at him like he was insane, “Bill, I don’t understand what you’re talking about, but you’re acting crazy—”

“I’m acting crazy?! You just admitted you’re in love with me!” He yelled, waving his arms frantically. She flinched, then stepped forward and snapped, “What’s so crazy about that?!”

“Oh ho, do you really want the whole list?” Bill began ticking them off on his fingers, “I manipulated you into a deal, I terrorized you as a child, I know I haunt your nightmares because I saw it firsthand, I tore apart your whole family, I—!”

“I don’t care about any of that stuff! I care about you!” Mabel yelled, stalling Bill for a second. He blinked, looking almost like he was going to cry, but Mabel fiercely cut off anything he was going to say, “Do you not care about me? Is that why I can feel all t-this sadness from you?”

“I wish I didn’t,” he said hysterically, running a hand through his hair. Mabel felt like he just punched her in the face, and he looked physically wounded at the sight of her hurt reaction. “I wish I didn’t care about you, Shooting Star, but I do. The one person I care about, can’t feel the same way about me. It’s not possible. I don’t deserve it and I can’t have it.”

“Bill…” Bill flinched away as Mabel reached out for him, jerking out of her grasp. Her heart panged painfully, and she took a step back, shrinking into herself. Bill looked incredibly guilty at this, and he ran a hand desperately through his blonde hair as he tried to get a hold of himself.

“I didn’t want this,” he hissed, tears clearly in his eyes, “I didn’t want to feel anything for you! I just wanted to not implode in my damn realm, and now…” He reached forward, and grabbed her hand. He shoved it against his wrist, making her feel his pulse. “Do you feel this? I’m alive. I’m alive and I’m going to die and for whatever time I have left, I don’t want to live without you! But I have to!”

Mabel felt scared. Clearly, Bill was having some sort of melt-down at her declaration, but she thought it was obvious! He’d been her boyfriend for a while now, and she had feelings for him long before it was ever official. Why was this such a bad thing? “Listen to me, please,” Mabel said pleadingly, trying to lace her hand in his, but he yanked away from her like her hand was on fire, “I’m not going to leave you, you don’t have to live without me!”

“If you had a choice,” he said darkly, “then you would leave. Unfortunately for you, I’ve forced you to be stuck with me forever.”

“It was just as much my choice to accept as it was yours to offer!” Mabel said furiously, “You can’t really think that—”

“What? That you’re just in it for the deal? Making the best of a bad situation, like you optimists usually do?” Bill hissed, face paling as he finally made eye contact with her. “That if I took this deal away right now, you’d be gone because you don’t need me anymore? Because you don’t have to be with me? Because you don’t feel my secondhand feelings?”

“Bill, what are you talking about?!” Mabel gasped, offended and horrified that this was what he thought of her. “Of course I wouldn’t–”

“I may be insane, but I’m not stupid!” Bill slashed his arms through the air. He glared at her, teeth grinding and face flushing, as he jabbed a finger at her. “So if I took away the bond - if I undid our deal and made it so Stan was on his own - then you’d stay with me.”

Mabel blinked at him, eyebrows raising in surprise. “If you undid the healing on Stan, I’d never forgive you. You’d be ruining his life just to spite me!” Mabel glared sharply, crossing her arms.

“This whole deal is to spite me!” Bill yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. “I was fine never caring about anyone! I loved hating things! And then I had to go a-and fall for you! And—!”

“So you do love me back?” Mabel cut him off, big eyes looking scared and confused, yet determined. He stared at her for what seemed like the longest time, unblinking, not saying anything. She almost reached out to poke him to make sure he was still alive. But then his eyes scanned her face, and he said emotionlessly, “It was me.”

Mabel looked at him in confusion, blinking, “What was you?”

“It was me, Mabel. I’m the reason Stan was sick in the first place,” Bill said, causing ice to slide throughout her veins. Mabel stared at him, the memory from Bill’s mindscape coming back as she shook her head, “W-what are you talking about?”

“When I came to consciousness all these years later, I was trapped in his mind, and I was destroying it so when he’d die, I’d be free. But the damn axolotl and the Oracle sent me out because I invoked them, made me a human, and I had to make a deal with you! I knew you’d be desperate to save Stan, so that’s why I came to you! And I’d do it again to save my own ass, and we both know it!”

Mabel felt the pain of deception, and she shrank in on herself. It made sense – Stan’s memory was the issue, and Bill was literally making it go up in flames. She thought of all the things he had done before he became the Bill she knew and loved and she slowly shook her head, “I _know_ you’re different now, Bill…”

“Oh yeah? Then prove it.” 

Mabel looked up at him in bewilderment, slowly managing a, “Huh?”

“Break the deal with me. I have no binds to keep up his health, and you have no binds to stay tied to me. You’ll have to just take my word that I’ll heal him if he needs it,” Bill said, watching her eyes widen.

Mabel stared at him in shock, blinking a couple of times. Bill managed to wait patiently, his stormy blue eyes boring into hers. Slowly, Mabel shook her head, and Bill nodded, looking smug yet miserable as she proved his point.

“I need to be completely sure Grunkle Stan will be okay,” Mabel shook her head pleadingly. “I can’t put him at stake just because I have to prove something to you.”

Bill just stared at her for a couple of seconds. She twisted her sweater under her grasp as Bill just looked at her with this look in his eye that she had never seen before.

“Of course. Of _course_ that’s what you pick! Because you know I’m no different!” Bill laughed hysterically, throwing his arms up. “I don’t even know why I asked! I don’t even know why I bothered trying to be a better person in the first place”

“Bill, stop it!” Mabel hissed, cheeks blazing red, “You’re acting like–”

“Like the triangle who haunted your nightmares? Oh, maybe that’s because that’s who I am!” Bill yelled hotly, “And y-you made me think you saw me as something different! But you were just using me!”

“I was not!” Mabel yelled desperately, gripping at her hair. “With that kind of logic, you were using me too! Are you just trying to make excuses?! Why are you–”

“No! I knew you couldn’t really believe I was any different!” Bill hissed, causing her to let out a frustrated noise. “You want your security for Stan? You can have it, but don’t you worry, I won’t be here!”

He tossed his hand dramatically, fingertips lighting in flames, and she flinched and nearly stumbled back. He stared at her, eyes the size of plates, as he watched her stumble away from him. He slowly lowered his hand, whispering in a voice she’d never heard him use, “You’re still afraid of me.”

“N-No! I’m not, Bill, I just—”

His entire face crumbled, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he yelled, “You don’t have to worry about your family, I’ll keep my end of the deal, but this part is off!”

He raised his hand again, grabbed hers, and snapped the fingers of his free hand. Bill’s eyes were still shut, looking pained as he began talking at rapid speed, tripping over his own words as he desperately spat them out. They began slowing down and then reversed, repeating backwards, and Mabel suddenly realized what Bill was doing. She tried to yank her hand away, but it was no use. Bill was breaking their bond.

Sure enough, her fingers began to sting, blue flashing in front of her vision and all around the two of them, and instead of being thrown against him this time, her heart felt like it was getting ripped in half as a great, invisible distance seemed to place itself between their souls. Instead of warmth in her heart, she was feeling empty, like a huge part of who she was was being torn away from her. Bill choked out a sob through the low, incomprehensible words, and then she was shoved away from him, and they both stumbled backwards.

She felt like something was missing from her very soul when the blue faded, and she looked up to see Bill with tears in his eyes.

“There,” he snarled, voice choked, “You’re free.”

“I didn’t want you to break the bond!” Mabel yelled through her own tears, “But I don’t care if we have one or not, I still want to be with you, Bill!”

“We don’t always get what we want, kid,” Bill said stiffly, but his voice was thick with emotion. He looked at his feet, pulling something out of his suit coat pocket. Mabel instantly recognized it as his summoning page, and he crumbled it in his palm before his hand lit on fire, burning the paper into ashes.

Mabel’s eyes were teary, a couple flittering down her cheeks as she stammered, “Wh-What’re you—?”

“Goodbye, Shooting Star,” he sounded eviscerated, letting out a shuddering sigh before his eyes met hers. A couple tears flittered down his cheeks, and she could only take a step forward, desperately reaching out for him. He quickly shook his head, mumbling an incantation under his breath before the world went temporarily gray, and he was surrounded by a flash of light. When the flash was gone, the world was back in color, and Mabel was standing in the woods, more alone and empty than she’d ever felt.

Out of all the things Bill had ever done to her, this one hurt the most.

* * *

As soon as Bill appeared back in his own dimension, back in the horrifying place he resided in that felt like anything but home, he dropped to the floor and started to cry. Not heat-of-the-moment tears, but big, ugly, wretched sobs that didn’t stop for what seemed like forever. When he got ahold of his pathetic self, he let out a shuddering sigh, running a hand through his hair as he got to his feet.

He paced back and forth, rubbing his temples vigorously, before coming to a standstill. He had to do that. That was for the best – for Mabel’s sake. He pulled the memory gun out of his suit coat, looking at it in his hands. Stan wouldn’t miss watching the sunrise with him, Ford would be happy he was gone, Dipper and Mabel would have more time to be the Mystery Twins again. Mabel would move on, and she wouldn’t miss him. Not after everything he’d done. Not after he ruined the wonderful date she had just planned, and broke her heart.

He typed ‘Mabel Pines’ into the memory gun. Once he forgot her, he’d forget this entire experience. He’d forget the love he felt, he’d forget the pain and the butterflies and the hazy, glorious summer days. He’d be left just a broken man, the man he was when the Axolotl first dropped him, clueless and defeated, in the woods. 

He reached underneath his suit coat, drawing out a hidden necklace. It said ‘Sev’ral Timez’ on it in flashy letters – it was one of the many pieces of jewelry Mabel had made him wear when going to the mall, the night of the concert, and he always wore it so it would rest close to his heart. He took it off, holding it in his hand as he looked up at the ceiling, letting himself think of Mabel one last time as he pointed the gun to his head.

He pulled the trigger, and the blue flames washed over his mind.  



	16. Something Missing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was on a bit of a writer's block, but it has passed! So quicker updates can be expected :)  
> Please continue to leave your comments!   
> Thank you to my wonderful beta as usual, and thank you for all the comments and kudos!

Mabel sighed as she curled up tighter in bed, the door slowly creaking open to let a sliver of light into the dark room. She was all bundled up in Bill’s favorite blanket, in the exact same spot she’d been too sad to leave ever since she had gotten home from their “romantic dinner,” which was almost two weeks ago.

“Hey, sweetie,” Stan said quietly from where he stood in the doorway, “I, uh, was just checkin’ up again. You hungry at all?”

Stan was taking better care of her than anyone – and she loved him for it. She knew all of this was worth it – falling for Bill only for him to leave, making the bond – because Stan was still here. He had been the one whose arms she had fallen into as soon as she slammed the door behind her when she got back from her dinner with Bill. He had been the one trying to get her to eat and take care of herself, even though Mabel didn’t want to do anything other than cry.

She shook her head against the pillow with a sniffle, feeling even worse when she smelled the deliciousness that were Stancakes and still had no appetite. From the doorway, she could hear Stan sigh brokenly, “Pumpkin, you haven’t eaten in almost a day, you gotta try…”

She pulled the blanket up around her face, voice quiet and sad, “I’m not hungry.” Stan sighed, and she knew he wasn’t going to push it. She hated to think Stan blamed himself for this, but she knew he did. He didn’t understand that it was Mabel’s choice to make the deal and her decision to date Bill – all he saw it as were his weakness holding her back, just like his dad had always said (she had heard him say as much to Ford, when the two of them were in an argument the other night).

Stan and Ford were another story – ever since Stan had found out Ford had been keeping the Bill Secret from him, the two weren’t really speaking. Ford tried, and Stan didn’t want to hear it – plus, the two of them were never great with communicating, so they were in a no-talking limbo besides the occasional argument. And Dipper - Stan and Ford practically had to shove Dipper into the plane back to New York – he was going to risk his scholarship by not going back for the new semester so he could stay with Mabel. She assured him she was alright, that he had to go to school – she really wasn’t alright, and she really missed her brother, but she didn’t want to hold him back. She wanted Dipper to have all the happiness in the world, even if she wouldn’t be there for it.

Stan sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands as he said softly, “It might help to talk about it, kid…”

She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, but finally said desolately, “I…I just want him to come back…”

Stan sighed, wringing his hands. Her Grunkle was never great with emotional confrontation, but he was more help than he realized. Mabel pulled herself up a bit, wrapping her arms around him and sniffling. He practically crushed her in a hug, and she smiled just a bit.  By the time she pulled away, though, the smile was gone, and she curled back up on the bed. Stan ran a hand through his hair, sounding gutted, “Do you need anything else, sweetie?”

She shook her head against the pillow, and he planted a kiss on her head, promised he’d be back soon, and left her to herself. She looked over at Bill’s chair and frowned, her heart panging. His stack of books was still tall and teetering where he had left it, and she had stolen his knitted yellow blanket to wrap around her own shoulders.

 She tilted her head a bit, able to see the circle of candles where she had crumpled up the balls of paper she tried to recreate his summoning incantation. She had tried to summon him back, but without the journal page, it was hopeless. The only other way she could possibly talk to Bill was if he were to come back to Gravity Falls, which she knew wasn’t incredibly likely, but… she’d wait for it to happen. She was Mabel Pines, and she wasn’t letting this go without trying, without  _answers_.

Mabel didn’t realize how bleak life without Bill was until he was gone. When she first got into the bond with him, she couldn’t stand to be in his presence, but here she was now, missing him like crazy. If he was bothered by her color and pizzazz being gone before, she could bet money now that her mindscape was just as colorless and desolate. She couldn’t believe he just…he just  _left_ ….

She missed him so much – his smile, his cackling laugh, his floppy blonde hair and constantly sarcastic blue eyes. She missed him trying to hide that he loved reading, she missed him sometimes forgetting how to eat, she missed him getting those goo-goo eyes whenever he’d look at her, when he’d smile at her like she was his whole world…she just missed him.

She didn’t understand why he left – he had been acting strange, and then she told him she loved him and he lost it. He knew he had to feel the same way…so why did he freak out? Why did he  _leave_? Did he still feel guilty over the past, or was it something she did? She just couldn’t figure it out and it was killing her. Her heart felt like it was broken into a thousand pieces. And Bill needed their bond – he told her he needed it to keep him from decaying along with his dimension. Without it, what would happen to him? The bottom line was, Bill needed Mabel, and she needed him.

Apparently, she wouldn’t have to wait long.

Mabel went to open the curtains to see the sunset, and what was on the other side shocked her to the core. The sky was that familiar ominous red color as it opened up just like how it did all those years ago. Only, it wasn’t an X – it was a weird, glitching, squiggled shape that looked like it was going to implode at any second. Mabel flashed back to Bill’s mindscape and all the times Bill did the glitchy thing, and it hit her.

Bill  _had_  to be here.

She stalled, of course, because she knew how much Bill had come to loathe what he’d done during Weirdmageddon. This…this looked suspiciously like a new one. She knew with all of her heart that Bill wasn’t the cause of this – but he probably was trying to put a stop to it somehow. And that could only raise more questions – were his weird nightmare realm friends involved? Were they holding him hostage?

With all these questions in mind and the idea that Bill could be in trouble, Mabel didn’t even hesitate before opening up her window and climbing down the wall. Her feet hit the grass and she pushed her hair off her face, trying to ignore the horrible feeling in her stomach, as she began her search through town. The sky above her was ominously flashing nightmarish, swirling colors. The streets were eerily quiet and desolate, besides the monsters roaming around and the flying eyebats. Was everyone hiding?

She squeaked, fumbling backwards as an eyebat crashed at her feet, wings out of control and eye blinking wildly. She threw a hand over her mouth, remembering how they flew through the air and turned the people she loved into stone. Instead of that, however, it began to glitch, until it completely disappeared as if it were never at her feet. Now that she looked up, she really  _noticed_  that everything around her was glitching. The rift in the sky, the flying eyebats, all the giant monsters. And this time, she didn’t have Dipper, and she didn’t even know what her uncles were up to. This…this was all wrong…some sort of messed up parody of when she was twelve…

“You! Shouldn’t you be with everyone else?”

A pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. She blinked, the shock of being grabbed subsiding as she realized who it was. In front of her stood Bill, looking unamused and glaring at her impatiently. As she looked at him in shock, his face sort of dropped into surprise as well. His eyes scanned over her face, and he almost looked confused, head tilting a bit as his eyebrows furrowed.

Mabel couldn’t take it anymore, and she swooped in and hugged him tightly. Bill’s entire body tensed up, and he tried to wriggle free, “H-Hey, hey! Hands off, kid!”

Mabel pulled back, confused and hurt. When has Bill not liked her hugs? Even the first time they ever hugged, he didn’t treat her so…harshly. He looked almost confused himself, as if he didn’t understand what she was doing or why she was doing it. He blinked wildly, rolling his eyes as he looked at her again. “Don’t look so beat up, kid! I deal with the ladies comin’ onto me a lot, so it’s a natural reaction!”  

She glared at him disgustedly, crossing her arms as she pouted. Bill grinned and tipped her chin up, “Hey, angry’s a good look on you.” He grabbed her hand and swung her against him as if they were dancing, then dipped her. “Guess this really is my lucky day! Didn’t know anybody good lookin’ lived in this town!” 

She looked up at him, mouth flapping uselessly, one arm around his neck so he wouldn’t drop her and the other limp with surprise at her side. She glared at him, “Between today and the last time I saw you, I’m getting some pretty mixed messages here.”

“Last time I saw ya? I think I’d remember seeing this face!” He swung her back out only to pull her flush against his front, “I’ve gotta say, I’m happy you sought me out! I came here to take over and all, but I guess I can take a break!” He winked at her, and that ominous feeling that something was really wrong struck her again, and this time, she didn’t ignore it.

“Bill…” she said, trying to step back, “Is this some kind of joke? Because I’m not laughing…”

His sharp grin fell, and he looked a bit lost for a second. When she tried to pull away further, he only held her tighter. He picked back up with the smile, “Joke? My, you hurt me! Why’s it so funny to spend some time with me? I’m about to rule this town, so it’s not like I ain’t a big deal!”

Mabel’s eyes welled up with tears, and Bill paled. She shoved at his shoulder in teary frustration, “Why are you acting like this?! Y-You just  _leave_  after everything, after I tell you I love you, and when you finally come back you’re acting crazy!? You’re not making any sense!”

He looked at  _her_  like she was crazy, and his eyes scanned over hers. He looked like she’d almost stalled him, and he opened his mouth and closed it. He shook his head, grin back in place albeit confused, “Whoa, kid, I think you’ve got me confused with some other jerk! I’m all for fun but love? Not my thing!” His grin darkened a bit, “But you were right about one thing though – I’m the craziest guy you’ll ever meet! Look around – I did all’a this!”

She didn’t need to look around, and she just glared at him before a jabbing a finger against his chest, “I  _know_  there’s something wrong with you, because you  _hate_  Weirdmageddon! You feel bad about it every day and you’d never want a second one!”

He looked down at the finger poking him, and then he laughed loudly, “Regret?! I just needed another shot to get it right! And this time, it’s gonna  _be_  right! And if you’re not here to party, then you’ll make a nice stone centerpiece on my coffee table! And that table’s made out of real flesh, ya know!”

She let out a frustrated noise, trying to shove away from him as he laughed and held her tighter. She couldn’t understand why he was being like this, but it was frustrating her to her limit’s end. “Bill, what is _wrong_ with you!?”

He merely looked amused, “You keep calling me Bill, but I never caught your name.”

Mabel’s voice came out in a teary, angered squeak, “You  _know_  my name, you jackass!”

“I’ve never heard you swear before,” he mused instantly in response, then looked surprised at what he said. His smile was gone, and he squeezed her arms, “Tell me your name, kid.”

She shook her head, biting out, “Mabel Pines. Are you telling me that—”

“As in the Pines family? At the Mystery Shack?” He said, eyes wide, “I didn’t know there was  _more_  of you guys!”

She looked down at his hands that were holding her, and she growled, “If I was free right now, I’d slap you, Bill. If you want to pretend that nothing between us ever happened, then—!”

He huffed and shook her a bit, “Are you a Pines or  _not_ , kid?”

“ _Yes_! I—”

He snapped his fingers, and her vision went out.

* * *

Bill snapped his fingers, and Mabel’s consciousness went out instantly. She crumpled in his arms, and he held her from not falling. Holding her was…strange, yet oddly familiar. He wasn’t even exactly sure why he made her fall unconscious, but he couldn’t really contemplate it anymore. He picked her up bridal-style as his friends walked over, something flashing behind Pyronica’s eyes as she spotted the girl in his arms.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” she asked, something dangerous behind her eyes that Bill really didn’t care to look into. At the mention of the girl in his arms, Bill looked down at her. In his arms was the beautiful and apparently certifiable Mabel Pines. He wasn’t sure how he missed there being a fourth member of the Pines family. Sure, he remembered his dear ol’ Fordsy, One-Punch Stan, and Pine Tree. But this kid? Apparently good looks are possible in the family!

He looked at her, his chest panging with something he couldn’t identify. It was always the pretty ones that were crazy – she was under some insane impression that the two of them had a ‘relationship.’ Bill wasn’t even sure what a relationship was! Something about her though…he just couldn’t put his finger on it…

Oh well! She was about to be a huge help to him, which she probably wouldn’t mind too much being as she ‘loved him’ and all! Being a human must be so confusing. That was why he wasn’t gonna stay in this meatsuit much longer – he was gonna do whatever he could to get out of it, even if it meant finding the Axolotl himself! But for now…

“Get this, there’s another Pines! This little sheep strayed from the flock, and now we’re gonna use her as a hostage! Gonna make gettin’ them through the gateway real easy.” Bill swung her a bit in his arms, glancing down at her face again. Man, something about this face….it seemed so—

_Mabel smiled at him for the first time, her eyes teary, where they sit somewhere with the stars behind them._

“Gah!” Bill dropped her straight out of his arms, luckily able to catch her again using some magic. He levitated her back into his arms, chuckling nervously. What in the hell was that? Was he having some weird breakdown? He’d never met this chick in his life, he…what was he just seeing? He blinked, slapping on a wide grin, “Anyways! Let’s get to it, huh?”

He snapped his fingers, and they all appeared in his temporary Fearamid. It was nowhere near as extravagant as last time – just a single big room for the next hour or so, while everything was getting in order. Once everyone was gone, he was going to build a better place of residence, of course, and he’d got a pretty good location picked out as to where it’s going to be.

He set Mabel down in his chair flatly, casting her a glance before he turned his attentions to his friends. He cleared his throat, “So, is everyone rounded up?”

“We, ah, still have a couple people we’re trying to find. Once we got some of ‘em a few scattered…” Teeth said, looking nervous. Bill found he didn’t really care – which was a change in and of itself, because just a little while ago, he was elated to start this thing up again. Now, he felt…strange. As if he shouldn’t be doing this at all.

He merely waved it off, “Yeah, yeah, excuses. Just go and get everyone, and then we can start this bad boy! Chop to it!”

All of his friends moved out, and he sighed as he leaned against the wall. This was supposed to be the best day of his life  - the correction of his foolish past mistakes, the beginning of a new era! Why did he feel so…

“What is this emotion I’m feeling?” He whispered to himself, and as soon as he said it something panged within his meatsuit’s chest. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged it. He was fine. This was fine. He sighed through his nose. This was not fine. He rolled his shoulders before snapping his fingers, waiting with his arms crossed as Mabel came to.

She rubbed her head, “Bill…?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” he snapped, tapping his foot. She looked around her, and visibly tensed up, “W-Where are we?”

“A Fearamid of my creation,” he said shortly. “I made it temporarily before I demolish the Mystery Shack and recreate a larger one there.”

He glanced at her to gauge her reaction, and she blinked at him before rubbing her eyes. She slowly moved her hands away, still staring at him as she said quietly, “What’s wrong, Bill? I know this isn’t—”

“You keep saying my name like you know me,” he hissed, throwing out his arms, “I have no idea who you are besides that you’re an insufferable Pines!”

He was trying to upset her, to get some sort of reaction that made sense, being as up to this point, nothing made sense. And a confused Bill Cipher was not a good Bill Cipher to be around. Mabel just kept staring at him, and her jaw dropped a tiny bit. She had a hand over her mouth and looked too pale for comfort, “What…what did they do to you…?”

“They?”

“Your friends from your realm! They don’t want us together and they don’t want you to be happy!”

Bill leveled her with a look, being as all of that sounds pretty out of character for himself – wanting to ditch a life of craziness and world domination to be “together” with a Pines. He put his hands on his hips, “Don’t look so concerned, kid. If you really knew  _me_ , you wouldn’t even be crazy enough to think we’re in some sort of human relationship.”

Mabel shook her head, emotion suddenly bursting in her chest as she stormed to her feet, “That’s not true! I know you better than anyone and we’re in love, Bill!”

Bill huffed and rolled his eyes, even as the declaration tugged and fluttered at something in his chest, “Aw, come on, don’t make me gag! I don’t love anyone, especially not a stupid kid like you – no matter how disgustingly beautiful you are!” He muttered to himself, “I don’t even think I’m capable of it.”

“You are!” Mabel grabbed his arm tearfully, snapping his attention to her, “I  _know_  you love me too! And you think I don’t know you? I know you better than anyone else!”

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her, laughing a bit hysterically, “I can’t believe I’m even listening to this—”

“I know that you love when people laugh at your jokes, that you love physical contact even though you say you hate it, that you love to sit up all night reading because you think gaining knowledge through working for it is fun! I know that your favorite food is chocolate ice cream, and that you think spoons are a waste of time!” Before Bill could reply, she barreled on, “I know that you have a scar on your back that you think is hideous and scary, but I think is a testament of how brave and courageous you are to have endured everything you have! I know that you know every single name of every star in this entire galaxy, because one time you—”

“Stayed up all night trying to tell you. You fell asleep on my arm.” He said slowly, eyes wide, looking at her as if she had just slapped him across the face. His mind flashed, and he saw her face next to him in the grass. He was wearing a sweater that was too itchy but he wore to appease her, and he was pointing towards the sky but watching her awed face as he named the stars. He took a step back from her, feeling disgusting and torn and horribly confused. He hissed, “Wh-What are you doing to me!? Is this some sort of plan? Some sort of…o-of tactic to stop me? Because you can’t—!”

She grabbed his hands and he recoiled, trying to struggle out of her grasp. For the first time in a long time, he felt…boxed in, like a wild animal. Maybe…maybe even scared. Which was insane, because he was Bill Cipher! He had the world on his shoulders, fears were meaningless, and nothing scared him! As Mabel spoke, however, he felt pretty damn scared, “I’m not trying to stop you! You can take over the town, the planet, the entire galaxy! But I  _know you_  and I know that’s not what you want anymore, no matter what you remember and what you don’t!”

He growled and broke free of her grasp, shoving her backwards. She stumbled, but still looked as defiant as before, which infuriated him. He pointed at her, shaking a bit, “You have no idea who I am or what I want! And I’d never let a brat like you try and get in my way! You’re crazy for the wrong psychopath, kid, so get off it!”

She raised an eyebrow at him in an adorably infuriating way, “You’re just getting mad because you know I’m right.” Bill clenched his fists, making a growl of frustration as he could only gesture to her in anger. He finally opened his mouth to reply, not even sure what he was going to say, when the door to the Fearamid opened.

“Cipher,” Pyronica’s voice trilled, and he sighed into his hands before smoothing back his hair and not even bothering to smile in the unnerving way he loved so much. His voice came out more frustrated than he’d appreciate, “Is everyone finally ready?”

“Yes! Want me to bring Mabel along? I can—”

“No,” he glared at Mabel, that frustrating tug in his chest whenever he looked at her, “I’ll bring her. I need her for the plan.”

“Bill,” Mabel said warningly, taking a step towards him. She puts her hand on his arm, big eyes looking at him, “Don’t do anything you’ll regret…” He paused, breath caught in his throat as his heart absolutely hammered. He refused to acknowledge he had that horrible, beating thing in his chest, and he refused to acknowledge anything his body may think it felt for her.

He hissed through his teeth, “I  _won’t_.” He snapped his fingers, and Mabel fainted again. He levitated her over to him and rubbed his temples with his free hands. Her words floated back to him as he looked at Pyronica, and he asked a bit skeptically, “Did…have you met Mabel before? Remember anything about her?”

Pyronica tapped her chin, “Hmm…nope, don’t think so! She doesn’t look familiar…”

Something sparked in Bill’s chest, and his eyes narrowed. He said slowly, “Have  _any_  of the gang ever met her?”

She shook her head, “No….we’ve never seen her before today. Speaking of, why don’t we head out, huh? Everyone’s waiting…”

Bill nodded and waved her off, and she tromped out the door. Bill watched her go, cold gaze on her. He could spot a lie when he heard one, and that sure was a lie. Especially because Mabel herself mentioned his friends earlier. He was missing something here. Something Mabel wanted him to know and something his friends didn’t. Bill thought back to the two flashes he had, and the weird feelings, and he’d never felt more unstable or more confused in his life. Which was really saying something.

He just had to get through today. He adjusted his bowtie, dropped Mabel into his arms, and exited the Fearamid.

Showtime. 


	17. Forget Me Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this took me like....a year to update XD But hey better late than never?? A LOT has changed in my life since the last time I updated this fic, you guys have no idea what can happen in just a year...but I am doing well :) I hope you all enjoy the update/conclusion, and please leave your comments!  
> As usual, thank you to my lovely beta for the unconditional support in everything I do <3

Stan watched from his chair, leg bouncing restlessly, as his brother practically burned a hole into the floor with his incessant pacing. Stan couldn’t really blame him – he was kind of losing it too, in all honesty, because not only had another apocalypse started, but Mabel was _gone_.

Stan had been taking care of her as much as he possibly could – he hated to see his pumpkin so down, and he knew for a fact she’d do the same for him. All of this was his fault…if he hadn’t been weak enough to have the nightmares, if he had kept a better eye on Mabel…she wouldn’t have ever had to make that deal. She would’ve never fallen in love with Bill Cipher.

When she had first came home from what Stan later found out was a “romantic anniversary dinner” (something _he_ gave Bill the idea for, that bastard), she was more upset than Stan had ever remembered seeing her. One good thing about his memory problems? He didn’t remember much of his episodes, meaning he didn’t remember all the teary moments he caused his family. But now? He’d never forget the door to the shack opening, and a sobbing Mabel rushing inside and into his arms.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s wrong?” Stan had asked nearly frantically, instantly noticing Bill wasn’t there and worried he had hurt her. Ford had skidded into the room, looking tired and sad yet horribly worried (and that was another thing – Stan and his brother had barely spoken since the big reveal, although Ford continually was trying), and when he looked at Mabel, he opened and closed his mouth before looking at the ground.

“H-He’s gone,” Mabel choked out, voice muffled by Stan’s shirt, “H-he left and he h-he’s never coming back—!” She tore away from him, rushing into her room and slamming the door shut behind her. Stan had stood there, dumbfounded – Bill had an _in_ with Mabel. He was living in the Shack, he had a sweet girl who loved him and a steady place to live, where he could hurt his enemies in their sleep if he wanted to. Why…why would he _leave_? When Stan asked this question to Stanford, he got a very soft, “I…I don’t think he wanted to hurt her…”

Stan didn’t know how the hell to respond to that, because honestly, he didn’t think so either. If Bill wanted to hurt Mabel, wouldn’t he have by now? Wouldn’t he have not spent all this time with her, not went to concerts and on adventures with someone he didn’t care about? Bill was a sick on of a bitch, a guy who manipulated a girl who was practically grieving her family member to get what he wanted. Then he got close with the family, and lied about being the one who nearly killed all of them, who tortured Ford, possessed Dipper, kidnapped and almost ended Mabel, and got Stan’s mind destroyed. But…but Stan remembered the way he looked at Mabel. Something inside of him knew Bill didn’t want her harmed. As much as he hated Bill, he _wished_ he could forget about caring about him.

Stan didn’t understand what Ford was doing when the two of them went to check on the memory gun. It took a few seconds to click after Stan realized it was gone – after Stan realized Bill had taken it not to use on someone else, but to use on himself. He looked at Ford in confusion, “But…why would he want a memory gun?”

Ford looked at Stan gravely, “So he could let her go.”

Well, shit. If Stan hadn’t been confused before, he sure as hell was doubting everything now. Especially when his brother ran up to him, wide-eyed and frantic and shaking. Pissed at his brother or not, Stan instantly paled in worry, “Whoa, Stanford, are you—?”

“Stanley,” he shook Stan’s shoulders, then shoved him towards a window, “Look outside!” Before Stan could question what the heck Ford was talking about, he saw it.

“Son of a bitch…” Stan breathed, pressing wide palms against the window in horror. It was another apocalypse. The sky was that horrifying red that was still kind of fuzzy in his memories, and the split-open part looked unstable and ominous. Stan looked to Ford in terror, because _no_ , they couldn’t do this again, he almost lost them all and almost lost his _mind_ , and—!

“It was Mabel,” Ford breathed, clutching at his hair, “It was _her_ that changed everything, and without remembering her, he doesn’t remember _himself_! He’s back to—”

“Exactly how he was the twins’ first summer here,” Stan finished, face ghostly pale. He backed away from the window, pulling Ford with him, “What do we do?!”

“I…I don’t know…” Ford had a hand over his mouth, looking at Stan worriedly. After further checking, it didn’t take long for them to realize Mabel went out looking for Bill. Stan was pissed, but he couldn’t exactly blame her. If the guy he thought loved him left with no explanation whatsoever, he’d sure as hell go out and try and get some answers.

All they could do now was wait for the show. 

* * *

Bill Cipher levitated above the whole city of Gravity Falls, grinning down at the chaos beneath him. His friends from the Nightmare Realm were off to the side, cheering and rooting him on as he raised his hands. Levitating next to him was an unconscious Mabel, whom he glanced over at. His stomach twisted just looking at her, and he could feel his palms sweating under all these weird feelings.

He felt nearly crushed under this overwhelming feeling that something…something was wrong. He took a deep breath through his nose, teeth clenched. Today was _his_ day, and nothing was going to get in his way.

“Ho-kay!” He rubbed his hands together, then smoothed his hair as he cleared his throat and made his voice painfully loud. “Alright Gravity Falls, listen up! This is your new ruler, Bill Cipher, speaking! So I’d oughta pay attention if I were you!”

The few townspeople who were running around and screaming, trying to hide or avoid being hit with the new-and-improved eyebats, came to a halt. He grinned, adjusting his bow tie, “Aw, shucks guys! Now, let me see here…” He scanned the crowd, then rolled his eyes, “I need the Pines family front and center, please and thank you!”

Thank you. That word…he looked over at Mabel, and his smile dropped as his chest had that feeling again. Damn it. Fuck. He rubbed at his face, hissing through his teeth. It didn’t take long for Stan and Ford to exit the Mystery Shack, both with their chests puffed out and trying to look oh so strong and courageous. It made him want to crack up laughing, but he kept his composure.

“Hey there, Sixer and Fez, my old pals!” Bill beamed, waving to them both where he floated in the air. Mabel’s body waved with his hand, and his grin widened as they both noticed her. “Oops! Sorry, I forgot which hand was controlling her! Hey, you two never told me you were hiding this one! Pine Tree’s twin, I take it?”

Stan and Ford exchanged a look, looking worried, and Bill basked in the sight of it. He should’ve taken a hostage last time, and then maybe things would’ve worked out better! He merely raised his eyebrows, waiting for one of them to respond. Stan finally stepped up, growling, “Put her down, you dumbass. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, really?” Bill grinned, “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea! I’m using this kid as a hostage, genius! And if you want her back, you two are gonna have to take a long walk off a short bridge into another dimension!”

With his free hand, Bill gestured to the rift above them. With a swift movement, it repositioned from out of the sky to the ground below where Bill and Mabel floated.

Stan flinched backwards, and Ford’s eyes widened in what was no doubt confusion, “Wh—? Why would you want—?”

“Last time I wanted to get outta this town. But this time? This time we wanna stay here!” He glanced at his nails, “And I’ve come to realize that this town ain’t big enough for all of us. And well, wouldn’t want the decaying Nightmare Realm to go to waste. So, we’re gonna town swap!”

“Bill,” Ford said dangerously, holding his hands up, “This isn’t what you want, you can’t do this…”

“Oh, watch me, Sixer! And I could start with Girl Pines over here if I really wanted to!” Bill grinned a catlike smile, hands steepling together, “But if you two mosey on in there with no flying fists or arguments, then I’ll keep this one here, safe and with me!”

Bill expected his plan to work – why wouldn’t it? Stan would sacrifice everything for his family, and if he remembered correctly from last apocalypse, Ford’s panties got all in a twist after Bill brought up torturing the ones he loved. So, he leaned back a bit, winning grin on his face, as he waited for the two of them to step into the portal with no trouble.

Instead, Stan _smiled_.

The gesture made every hair on his human body stand on end, and he glared almost nervously, “What’s so funny, Fez?”

Stan chuckled, and Ford looked at his brother as if he was insane – which, Bill always had a hunch he was. Bill didn’t really understand why, but in Stan’s presence, he felt….jittery. Threatened, which was crazy, but….vision of fists and blue fire flash in front of his eyes, and he knocked a fist against his chest, trying to get ahold of himself. The feeling seemed to invoke a memory – a memory of himself sitting on the edge of a bed, breath short with panic, and a pair of frustratingly calm hands rubbing his back.

“What’s so funny,” Stan snapped Bill out of his mind, body jolting, “Is how predictable you are.”

Red flashed in front of Bill’s eyes, “Wh—?! Predictable!? How is this predictable?!”

“Because of course _you_ want to keep Mabel here with you,” Stan said smugly, grin in place, “Even without your memories, you still can’t deal with not followin’ her around like a lovesick puppy.”

For the first time in his existence, Bill was completely tongue-tied. He…he had no idea how to respond to this. He looked to Ford as if the man was going to apologize for his brother, and say Stan just had a big bowl of whacko-nuts for breakfast this morning. But Ford…Ford had a look on his face eerily similar to Stan, albeit more visible concern (Sixer never really was good with his poker face). Bill cleared his throat, fire crackling from his fists, “Whatever diversion you’re trying to create here, it’s not working for me. You trying to convince me that I-I—”

“Cipher,” Stan cut him off as if he was a child, and Bill growled with wide eyes, “Listen. We know you couldn’t hurt Mabel even if you tried. You couldn’t even say no when she wanted to go to a _boyband concert_.”

Bill pointed at Stan hotly, “How was I supposed to say no!? She wouldn’t stop badgering me and _you_ try and look at those eyes and—!” Bill sucked in a breath as if the words that just escaped his mouth burned him, and a piece of hair fell over his eye as his entire body tensed up. He rewound the words that he just said, and he could faintly feel arms around his neck as he swayed on clumsy feet, could see a brunette ponytail hitting him in the eye as she jumped up and down next to him.  

Stan raised an unimpressed eyebrow, clearly able to see what he was doing to Bill. He nudged Ford, “Aren’t memory guns supposed to, I dunno, work better? He’s fallin’ apart.”

“I’M FINE!” Bill yelled, fire exploding around him in a spiraling circle, “AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA—!”

“Ohoho, I have an _idea_ , buster.” Stan snapped back, stepping forward with enough intimidation to shoot the fire around Bill down and cause him to flinch. He ran a hand through his hair, hating himself for fearing Stanley Pines of all people. “You’re too scared to talk to her and face your damn feelings that you won’t even keep her awake.”

Usually, Bill would be able to spot this type of manipulation from a mile away. But he didn’t even hesitate before hissing, “Oh yeah?! Well how about this!” He snapped his fingers, and Mabel was suddenly conscious, gasping for air where she levitated, feet kicking a bit.

She looked over at him with wide eyes, “B-Bill—?”

“DON’T say my name!” Bill jabbed a finger at her, because he couldn’t stand the way his stomach flip-flopped when she says it. She looked from left to right, then to her great uncles, “Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, d-don’t worry! This is still our Bill! T-The dumb nightmare realm guys did something to his memories!”

Stan chuckled darkly, shaking his head, “Nope. He did it to himself.”

Bill and Mabel’s heads both snapped to Stan with voices in unison, one confused and one defensively angry, “What?”

Stan, however, didn’t answer. He just sighed, looking somewhere behind Bill, condescending smirk gone. “Cipher.” Stan’s voice said coldly, and Bill looked at him. “Look behind you.”

Bill’s face contorted, “Who do you think I am?! I’m not falling for—!”

Stan crossed his arms, face eerily sure of himself, “The sun’s risin.”

This stalled Bill, who visibly swallowed. Something flashed in his eyes, and he slowly turned his head. The sky was glitching in and out, colors swirling and melting, but in the distance, Bill could see a red-tinted sun rising. He looked back to Stan, hissing through his teeth, “So?!”

Stan leaned against his 8-ball cane, a small smirk on his face, “I’m just rememberin’ you and I sitting at the kitchen table.”

Bill waved his arms at Stan in hostility, “I’ve never sat _anywhere_ with you! Y-Y-You destroyed me and that’s why I’m stuck in t-this _body_!”

Stan shrugged, “I did. I mean, I didn’t know it was _you_ who I was sitting with all those mornings. Thought you were Mabel’s friend William, which, you totally could’ve picked a better name.”

“Hey, that wasn’t my choice, she came up with that on the spot! After she said it, it’s not like I could—” Bill’s eyes widened and he stopped himself again. He was staring at nothing, and then his eyes slowly met Stan’s again. His voice came out shaky, “W-What the _hell_ —?”

“You lost your memories of Mabel,” Ford piped up, Bill’s head snapping to him. “You lost them because you knew you couldn’t give her up otherwise. You told me as much, and I…I should’ve tried to figure out an alternative. I…I wanted you gone, at any cost.”

“NO!” Pyronica’s voice cut through the air as she rushed over, “YOU’LL REGRET THIS, PINES! YOU CAN FINALLY BE RID OF HIM! THINK OF YOUR NIECE—!”

Bill didn’t even look at Pyronica, freezing her feet to the ground. His fiery eyes were on Stan, who looked so damned calm, so damned sure of himself, that Bill couldn’t _wait_ to prove him wrong.

“I don’t know her,” Bill’s voice was shaking and angry, fire practically coming out of his mouth, “I REFUSE to know her, I don’t—!”

“How about,” Stan said calmly, “You look at her and tell her you don’t love her.”

Mabel looked at Bill with big eyes, bottom lip quivering where she floated next to him. She looked so small and freaked out, and Bill wanted nothing more than to set her on the ground and apologize. He let out a shaky breath, eyes wild and panicked, gnawing on his fingernails before he opened his mouth. His voice came out shakier than he’d ever heard it, “Th-That’ll be easy. I-I don’t…I've _never_...”

“Bill,” Pyronica said, voice desperate and frustrated, and she gripped at her own horns, “Bill, don’t you dare…just say it…”

“I don’t….” He looked at Mabel again, and she looked so familiar, so beautiful and perfect, and he just…he breathed out, “I…I can’t say it. Why can’t I say it?! How could I possibly be in love with—?!”

  
His eyes meet Mabel’s and…and he knew it. He knew it and he remembered the pain, remembered the fear and doubt and crippling _love_ and it all hit him at once. He began to hyperventilate, eyes clouding with tears, “No, no, I-I can’t…I don’t…don’t you see? Don’t you see, Sh-Shooting Star? It’s—! 

A sound tore from Pyronica’s throat, and he whipped around to see pink fire crackling on her hands. His friends were behind her, eyes red and looming, and the oddly-shaped portal to the Nightmare Realm beneath them crackled and glitched. Bill, along with all his friends, glitched violently as their realm imploded more on itself, the rift fading in and out. When Pyronica spoke, her voice was distorted, “Y-You think you c-can do this to us again!? L-Lead us to victory and ruin it all? I-I won’t let you! W-We have a deal!”

“I helped you get here, didn’t I? That’s what you wanted! Here you are! I kept up my end!” Bill yelled back through his panic, and Pyronica’s eyes flashed red.

“Well the deal is _off_ , Cipher. I don’t have to keep up _anything_.”

She snapped her fingers, and spiral of white fire flew at Mabel. Bill had a split second to see the horror on Stan’s face, see Ford’s jaw drop and his hand reach out, and to see the fire flying at her. An image flashed through his mind – a nightmare Mabel had, where Bill held her family in a spidery hand as she watched on and pleaded with him. He knew he could never be her night in shining armor. But he wouldn’t be her greatest nightmare either. 

He threw himself in front of her, and light exploded in front of his face as pain burst through his right eye. Mabel screamed his name, the whole world blacking in and out as nightmares and blue fire crackled and poured through his eye.

“BILL!! ARE YOU CRAZY—?!” Mabel screamed in horror, reaching out for him but unable to move, tears already pouring down her cheeks. His jaw set, and he looked from Stan and Ford to his henchmaniacs. He couldn’t do this to her again. He couldn’t bring about another apocalypse, he couldn’t let her get hurt and traumatized because of him. He didn’t completely remember her, but he could still feel her in his heart, and no memory gun could erase that.

“I am NOT the person I used to be,” Bill growled, hands raising up and glowing with white fire, “And I…” He looked over at Mabel, “I love you. I don’t know anything – for a being that’s all-knowing, I’ve never known a damn thing – except for that.”

Mabel shook her head, a hand over her mouth as the tears poured down her cheeks. Before she could say anything more, Bill raised his hands higher, and all of his friends flashed and turned the same white color. The white flames engulfed himself, and before he brought his hands down, he took one last look at Mabel and whispered, “I’m sorry, kid.”

And then he brought his hands down, and he transported them all back to burn out in the mindscape. The last thing he heard was Mabel scream his name, and then his vision whited out.

* * *

His eyes opened, and everything was still a blinding shade of white. Huh, he always thought his afterlife would be more…fiery and burning. How ironic that, even after saving his own ass from burning in Stan’s mind, he ended up getting flamed in his own mindscape. Figures. Maybe his afterlife was just…nothing. Now he had all the time in the world to think about…

Mabel.

Oh lord. He remembered her. He remembered her – all of her, the good, the bad, the annoyance, the anger, and the crippling love – and now he was confined to float forever and think about her and miss her and—

“Bill?” He registered the feeling of a warm hand around his, and he tried to make his mouth form some sort of coherent sentence. That voice…. “Bill! A-Are you awake? Hey, doctor guy, I-I think he’s waking up!”

He felt himself blink…one eye. He had one eye again. He had just gotten used to having two of them, and now he’s back to one? He numbly lifted his arm and pinched himself weakly – he still had human skin, apparently, so he’s not back to his triangular form. He blinked again and then could make something out in the whiteness…a tile ceiling?

“Wh…where am I…?” he heard himself mutter, and then he heard Mabel scream. His eyes popped open all the way and he tried to sit up, a beeping noise next to him going crazy as he gasped, “Mabel?! A-Are you—?!”

He felt her arms around his neck, and she practically squealed, “He IS awake! He’s awake!” She pulled back, and then he saw her face. His heart melted at the sight of her, and he finally felt that familiar flood of something that could only be described as love again. She shook his shoulders, “They told me you were gone, but I told them you were a stubborn jerk who wouldn’t let a little thing like his dumb friends take him out! I said it would have to be something more exciting than that!”

“I-I’m…not dead?” He asked slowly, piece of hair falling over his eye. Not that he’d see it – he just felt it hit his forehead, “Why can’t I see out of my useless second eye?”

“Well, technically, you did die! For like, four minutes and then again for another five. But you fought through it, just like you always do whenever you lose!" 

Bill huffed out a tired but amused sigh, “Gee, thanks, kid.”

She beamed, cradling his hands in hers, “And your eye! You took a bullet for me, Bill, and it…” Her smile fell, and she looked gravely guilty, her glassy eyes meeting his after a couple seconds, “It blasted your eye. You can’t…I’m so sorry—”

Oh. Well, that explained why he could only see through one. He went to complain, maybe get a little much-deserved sympathy, but he got a look at her face and instantly did a 180. “I was so tired of having two eyes!” Bill said eagerly, not sure if he was just saying that to make her feel better or if he genuinely meant it. But the guilty expression lessened on her face some, so he ran with it, “You did me a favor, kid! All this ‘depth perception’ and ‘multiple eyes’ stuff was way too complicated for me!”

"You do look good with an eye patch," Mabel shook her head with a snort, a few tears dropping from her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck. He cringed, still feeling pretty beat up and pretty sure she shoved a tube deeper into one of his body’s orifices, but he couldn’t be happier having his Shooting Star in his arms again. He felt her whisper against his ear, “I’m so happy you’re okay…” She pulled back, watery eyes boring into him, “I-I’m…do you remember me? All of me?”

He nodded, a soft smile on his face as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, cradling her cheek, “I remember all of you, Mabel. And I love every single thing I remember.”

Mabel bit her bottom lip, holding back a big smile and probably about a gallon of tears, “Y-You do?”

“Of course,” He snorted a bit hysterically, feeling a few tears he refused to acknowledge in his eyes, “I…I tried everything I could to try and run from it, kid. I didn’t want you hurt – I know you deserve better than me, and I—”

“I remember all of you too, Bill.” She cut him off, big eyes boring into his, “All the bad parts, the scary parts, the parts that are in my nightmares – but I don’t care about those parts. Do you understand?” She cupped the sides of his face, her expression more serious than he’s ever seen her, “I’ve seen you at your absolute worst, but I know you at your absolute best. And I love all of you for what you are, Bill Cipher. I love _you_.”  

He felt his cheeks blaze, smiling and letting out a shuddery sigh, “I…wow. Now that I’m not freaking out, it’s…surreal to actually have someone who…and for it to be _you_ …” He wiped his eyes, and cupped her face as well, laughing again, “I love you too, Shooting Star. And let me tell you, I have not been having a great time adjusting to being in love for the first time in my entire existence.”

She laughed loudly, the way he couldn’t believe he was almost willing to forget, and then he was cackling too. His heart monitor caught his eye, and then he looked back at her curiously, “So, why am I still tickin’? Wasn’t I supposed to burn in my mindscape from my grand act of chivalry?”

“Well, I called Dipper and I guess he's been reading up on how our bond works. You broke our bond…but it was a two way street,” Mabel grinned tearily, “I had to agree to make it, and I had to agree to break it. Since I didn’t, you’re still bonded to me. I’m just not bonded to you.”

“Oh.” He took her hands in his, and kissed the back of them. He didn’t take them away from his mouth, looking up at her, “Break it.”

“Wh…Why?” Mabel asked worriedly, recoiling a bit, but Bill shook his head rapidly. He lowered her hands and intertwined them, “Mabel. I don’t want some bond keeping us together, alright? I—stop making that face, kid. Let me finish.”

Mabel didn’t seem to realize that the tears had welled back up in her eyes, and she quickly tried to blink them away. Her voice was smaller than he’d ever heard it, “But…I don’t want you to leave again. What if—”

“I’m not leaving you. Why would I? Stan was right, I’m _stacked_ here with you. I’ve got a house I’ll be able to live in after some major trauma therapy, I’ve got the closest thing to a family I’ve ever had, even if half of them kind of want me dead….and most importantly, I’ve got you. And if it took me getting shot through the eye and losing my mind to realize you’re all I need, then I’m glad it happened.” Bill squeezed her hands in his, and leaned forward as much as he could to kiss the tip of her nose. “I want us to stay together because we _want_ to be stuck with each other. Do you want to keep being tied to me for the long run, kid?”

“Don’t ask dumb questions,” Mabel smiled brightly, voice shaky and teary and absolutely happy, as she leaned forward and kissed him. “And you want to be tied to me? Mabel Pines?”

“Don’t rub it in,” he mumbled teasingly, and she punched his arm with a giggle. “Of course I do. For the rest of whatever I have left in this stupid flesh bag.”

“Hey, I love your flesh bag!” She poked him on the nose, “And you love mine! From the minute we first made a deal you were making creepy comments about how good you thought I looked!”

“Maybe that’s why you’re attracted to _me_. I’ve been told I’m…acute guy.”

Mabel giggle-snorted behind her hand, rolling her eyes fondly, “Doctor? Can you knock him back out—”

“Hey, don’t ask the doctor. I’ll do that for ya.”

Bill moved his head slightly, and Stan was in the doorway. Ford was behind him, looking anywhere but Bill, and for the first time in thirty years, he looked…guilty. Bill raised an eyebrow, “If you’re gonna end me, can you wait until after lunch? I’ve never actually tried hospital food before.”

“Shut yer mouth, Bill,” Stan huffed, cracking his knuckles absently in a way that made Bill very uneasy. He pulled a chair next to Bill’s bed, and just…looked at him for a few minutes. Bill squirmed uncomfortably, fingers tapping against Mabel’s, “Well. Nice of ya to stop in—”

“Bill,” Stan said again, snapping Bill’s attention back to him. He felt nervous, which was absolutely preposterous, because Stan Pines didn’t make him nervous anymore! They had gotten past that! This wasn’t the same nervousness Bill used to feel it was…different, and he wasn’t sure why. Stan continued, eyes narrowing sharply, “You’re a jackass, you know that?”

All Bill could do was crack a weak smile, gulping, “So I’ve been told.”

“You used Mabel,” Stan glared, causing a lump to form in Bill’s throat, “You’re a manipulative piece of shit who used her when she was at your absolute mercy to keep me alive. You bonded your pathetic triangular ass to her so you could escape your problems and hassle my family. You think it was out of line for me ‘n Sixer to react the way we did when we found out the truth?”

“No,” Bill had never heard his own voice sound so ashamed before, “I-It wasn’t. I’ve been this way since the dawn of _time_ , Stanley. I _want_ to change for her, but I left because I’m worried that I can’t—”

“We think you already have, Bill,” Ford piped up, hand on Stan’s shoulder, “I-It…it’s hard to believe, absolutely. But the evidence doesn’t lie – you were completely different after wiping your memories of Mabel. You were back to the demon that ruined my life, that wanted to take over the town and didn’t care about anyone. But because of her? You’re…different than you’ve ever been. Different than before. We…we can see that.”

Bill didn’t realize that tears had built up in his eye until Mabel was using her sweater sleeve to wipe them off of his cheek. He blinked rapidly, face flushing from embarrassment, “So? I’m different than before. What of it? It’s not like I’m not still dangerous. I still got Mabel hurt, and _I_ was the one who put everybody in danger. I could do it again, you know.” He tried to keep the emotion out of his voice as he asked weakly, “What if I do?”

“You won’t,” Stan shrugged with such assurance that Bill looked at him like he was the one who was insane. “I _won’t_?” Bill raised an eyebrow, “No offense Stanley, but you have _no idea_ who I am or what I’m capable of—”

“I do know you, thanks to you lyin’ to me for all that time, _William._ ” Stan cut him off with a smirk. “Fake name or not, I know who you are now. You’re selfish, you’re conceited, you’re an asshole, you’re a manipulate compulsive liar—”

“Gee, keep those compliments coming.”

“But!” Stan held his hand up. “You’d do anything for Mabel. You love her and you’d wipe out your entire mind – trillions of years of existence – just to keep her safe. Any guy who’d do that for her is…alright in my book.” Bill’s never felt this shocked in his entire life, especially when Stan pats Bill’s arm and offers a smile, “We’re more alike than you think, kid. I’d do the same for my family.”  

Bill smiled back at Stan, eyes filled with tears and voice thick with emotion, “Just get over here, you old bastard.”

Stan rolled his eyes with a gruff laugh before giving Bill a hug. They pushed each other away after a couple seconds in unison, both complaining about the other being sappy. This gave Bill enough time to see the stars in Mabel’s eyes at the scene in front of her, and she let out a happy squeal, “I’m SO happy you guys are best friends again!”

“Best friends?” Stan scoffed, dusting off his sleeves, “I don’t know about that. Being roommates is bad enough.”

“R-Roommates?” Bill’s eyes lit up, “You mean—? I can come back hom—I mean, to the Shack?”

“We have a…deal we’re hoping you’d accept,” Ford smiled, and Mabel was practically bouncing up and down as she squeezed Bill’s hands. “You can stay at the Shack, so long as you help out. Running some tours, restocking the gift shop. You know, stuff that’s naturally much more boring than what you’ve been up to in the previous trillions of years.”

“So you want me to be the new Soos?” Bill asked dryly, to which everyone in the room nodded eagerly. He rolled his eyes, huffing, “Fine, fine! I’ll make it work! You guys already know I look great in that suit anyways.” He winked at Mabel, and she giggled and shoved his arm.

“And none of that!” Stan pointed to them playfully, “No flirting ever! And I’m serious about keeping five feet between you two at all times!”

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel laughed, hugging onto Bill’s arm, “You’re gonna have to get used to it with me and Bill living with you guys! Especially when we get married!”

“Yeah, especially when—” Bill looked at her with wide eyes and seemed to short circuit, then tugged on the neck of his hospital gown with a blush and laughed nervously, “M-Marriage? What’s that? Who said anything about—?”

“I think you’ve overloaded him, sweetie,” Ford chuckled behind his hand, “I think Bill’s had enough commitment talk for one day.”  

“Oh please. Of _course_ we’re gonna get married someday! Us being together is aligned in the STARS!” Mabel threw her arms up with jazz hands, then poked Bill in the cheek, “And he knows it.”

Bill rolled his eyes and kissed her on the tip of the nose, pulling back and smiling at her, “I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next comes the epilogue!  
> Omg if I get to 300 kudos and 100 comments I'll uhhhhhhh write a bonus oneshot


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